A Farewell to Kings
by spookisapuppy
Summary: This is about Halt when he was young. And it has SPOILERS FOR BOOK 8! If you don't want to know, don't read. But if you do want to know, do read. :P
1. On the Road Again

Chapter One:

**On the Road Again**

by Willie Nelson

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_Okay, so this story is about Halt when he was young. And it has SPOILERS FOR BOOK 8! Don't say I didn't warn you. But I waited until a whole week after the book came out in the U.S. to post this. Anyway, this takes place from the time Halt is seventeen to however old he is when I decide to stop writing this. These first couple chapters are mostly set up. Enjoy. :P

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_

Someone was banging on her door. The girl sighed. Why was it that no one could ever leave her alone? Just an hour, even a few minutes, would have done the trick. But no. There was always someone knocking on her door. Always with something "extremely important" that was begging for her attention. The banging continued. Sighing once more, the girl drug herself off of the four poster bed and over to the door. Swinging it open, she was met with a totally unexpected sight.

"Halt, why are you all wet?"

For standing in the doorway of Caitlyn's room was her older brother Halt, heir to the kingdom of Clonmel, and at the moment, dripping wet.

"He tried to kill me Caitlyn. He tried to drown me," Halt said in a hollow, shocked voice.

Oh, and how sad was it that Caitlyn instantly knew what her brother was talking about. Her other brother, Ferris, Halt's twin, had tried to kill Halt almost a year before. There was no real proof of course, only Halt's word and her own suspicions. But Halt had never lied to her, and her suspicions proved to be right only too much of the time.

And it made so much sense now. Their father, the king, was close to death. Halt would be taking the throne soon. Which meant Ferris was running out of time. If he hoped to get rid of Halt and become King in his place, he would have to act soon. And he apparently already had.

"What are you going to do?" she asked, as she always thought it best to get straight to the point of the matter.

Halt looked pained as he said the next words. "I have to leave."

Caitlyn nodded. She knew that was Halt's only choice, short of killing Ferris, and Halt could never do such a thing. Besides, leaving would have been her own suggestion to him. She took her older brother by the hand and led him back to his room, further down the hall.

"You'll need dry clothes. You change and pack and I'll find you some food. Keep the door locked in case Ferris comes back."

Halt nodded. He allowed Caitlyn to leave before locking the oaken door to his bedroom. He snatched up a bag and hurriedly starting stuffing spare clothes into it. It was times like these that he was truly glad that he had a sister like Caitlyn. She took everything in her stride, and it was nearly impossible to ruffle her feathers. Added to that was the fact that she was a good person, and truth be told, the only person Halt felt close to in his family.

Oh. But this was a terrible thought. When he left Dun Kilty, he would be leaving Caitlyn behind as well. He stopped what he was doing, just stood there in the middle of his room as he felt an immense sadness settle over him. But just then, before he could get too far into his depression, he heard Caitlyn's voice at the door.

"Halt, let me in."

He hurried over to the heavy oak door and let his little sister slip through. She looked at him, with that exasperated expression that she so loved to use on him.

"Halt, what are you doing? I told you to change clothes. How hard is that?"

"Oh. Sorry," Halt said meekly (usually he would have had some kind of snarky comment ready for her, but these just weren't normal circumstances).

She sighed. "Don't apologize, just do it. I'll turn around." And so saying, she closed her eyes and turned to face the gray stone wall. Halt hurriedly peeled off his soaking wet clothes and pulled on a dry tunic and slacks.

"Can I look now?"

"Yes." She turned and shoved a bundle at him.

"Okay, this is enough food for a week and all the money I could find."

"Alright."

They lapsed into silence for a long moment as they stood staring at each other. Now Halt's earlier sadness was mirrored in Caitlyn's eyes.

"Halt, are you sure you want to go?" she asked softly.

"Caitlyn, I don't _want_ to go, I _have_ to. I really wish I didn't."

Caitlyn looked up at her older brother, tears springing to her eyes. "Me too."

Halt suddenly had a desperate urge to keep his sister from crying. "If you want me to, I'll stay."

Caitlyn blinked rapidly and swallowed hard before looking her brother straight in the eye, all signs of sadness gone.

"Halt, I would rather have you gone and alive than here and dead." And then she pulled him into a hug, and for once, he didn't protest. "I love you Halt."

"I love you too Caitlyn," they stepped apart, "Maybe I'll see you again someday."

Caitlyn nodded and tried to swallow past the lump in her throat. "I hope so." They stood in silence for a few more moments. Halt took a deep breath.

"Well, I suppose it's time to go say goodbye to Ferris," he said with a mock cheery voice.

"Have fun with that."

"Oh, I will."

* * *

"I'm leaving. Take the throne, be the king, go for it. I don't care anymore." Halt and Ferris were standing in Ferris' huge bedroom, a mirror image of Halt's own.

"What?"

Halt sighed. "Ferris, you tried to kill me." Halt saw his brother open his mouth to protest and held up a hand. "No. Just don't. We both know you want to kill me. We both know you want to be king. Well, here it is. Here's your opportunity. Take the throne. I don't want it anymore." He turned away and started walking towards the door.

"Halt, this is absurd. You-"

Halt turned back viciously. "No! What's absurd is the fact that you're willing to kill your brother – your _twin_ brother - to gain the throne. Ferris, I've just saved you a lot of work. You're gonna be the king soon. I guess that means more to you than it ever could to me. Goodbye."

And this time, when he turned for the door, he didn't stop. And Ferris, like a concerned brother would, tried to call him back. But meaningfully, Halt thought, Ferris never tried to follow him.

* * *

By the time anyone at Dun Kilty realized the Crown Prince was missing Halt had already made it all the way out of the castle and the town surrounding it with his horse, his sword, and the food and clothing that he and Caitlyn had gathered earlier, without anyone recognizing him. Not bad for a seventeen year old.

Now he was on his way down the road, passing through farmland and occasional woods, and formulating his plan. Since he was a prince, people would be sent to look for him. But if they found him, or rather, if they found _enough_ of him, perhaps they would stop searching. Halt's plan was simple. He would leave behind a few important items, his horse, his sword, a ring, perhaps, and let them be found. Hopefully it would be enough to set them searching along a false trail and buy him some time.

When his father, the King, died, and Halt was nowhere to be found, there would be no choice but to crown Ferris king. And that would be that. There was no way Ferris would actually bother to look for him, not when he had just been handed the crown.

In short, Halt would soon be free to do whatever he pleased. And the first thing he wanted to do was get out of Clonmel. Heck, get out of Hibernia. The only question was, where should he go? Gallica, perhaps? He discarded that idea almost immediately. He'd probably get himself killed in that war torn little country. Where then?

Hmm... Araluen maybe? He really didn't know much about the place, but he knew they weren't at war with anyone. And you never did hear much news of rebellion or unrest. Actually, that was the reason he had never learned much about it, Araluen always seemed to be at peace. Perfect. He would go to Araluen. Decision made, he rode toward the nearest port city.

* * *

Halt walked into the dirty little town on the seashore. All the bells in the churches were ringing and the citizens all seemed to be in a hurry. Halt stopped a passing man.

"Excuse me sir. What's going on?"

"Why, today is Prince Ferris' coronation. We're getting ready for the feast." In Hibernia, the crowning of a King was cause for celebration. All of the farmers and workers got a day off for a feast.

"Ferris? But I thought the Crown Prince was Halt?"

"Oh, you haven't heard? When he heard the news of his father's death young Prince Halt rode off by himself and was killed by some bandits. It's tragic isn't it? Ferris has lost a brother and a father, but he's still going forward with the ceremony."

"How brave of him," Halt said dryly. So that was the story? Killed by bandits? Halt felt Ferris could have come up with something more interesting than that. But then, Ferris would have to have an imagination first. Oh well. At least he didn't have to worry about his brother now that he was dead. All he had to do was get to Araluen. He'd already left his horse behind in the first big port city near Dun Kilty. He'd dropped his sword out in the woods. Then he'd walked for a week to get here. He headed for the docks to find a ship. Everyone else may have been on holiday, but sailors never took a day off.

* * *

Halt groaned. This was the most misery he'd ever felt in his short life. He had never been on a ship before, and at this point, he planned to never get on one again. He gripped the ship's railing harder as they plunged downward once more, making his already white knuckles turn even whiter.

When they had first sailed out of the harbor at the little seaside town he had felt fine. But once the ship made it to open water his stomach had betrayed him. And to make matters worse, the ship's crew seemed to find his predicament funny. You could say that Halt wasn't in a good mood. To put it simply, if he'd had a dagger, at least three people would be dead by now. The only man on board who seemed to have any sympathy for him was the captain. The man approached Halt now.

"Have you ever been on a ship before laddie?"

"Noooooo," Halt groaned past gritted teeth.

"I thought not. Well, don't worry about it. Another day, maybe two, and you'll get used to it."

Halt nodded, but the captain could tell he didn't really believe him. Ah, well. In another four days they would be in Araluen, and it wouldn't matter anymore. Still, he felt a pang of sympathy for the pale young man before him. This boy was obviously running away from something, not that it was any of his business. The captain shook himself. No, he would just leave the boy alone to suffer in silence. Sometimes it was better that way.

* * *

_I know, not a great ending point. I thought about putting in the first bit from the next chapter here, but I kind of needed it there. And actually, this chapter isn't that important. The whole point was just to get Halt out of Hibernia, so I didn't spend a whole lot of time on it. Oh, and some of you may be wondering why Halt had a sword. Well, I have an actual legitimate theory about that, which I will explain in the next chapter. Anyway, hope you enjoyed. And don't be a myopic chihuahua! Review! :P_


	2. Savin' Me

Chapter Two:

**Savin' Me**

by Nickelback

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_So... I'm not actually sure if anyone is reading this story, except for the people that reviewed the last chapter (thanks by the way) because the little traffic thingy on my account is broken. Or everyone has completely stopped reading my stories. _

_I'm gonna go with it being broken. So here's the next chapter, once again it's just set up. And it's mostly a fight scene, but I don't really know how to write them, so just bear with me. Also, I completely made up Jared. But you'll be seeing a lot of him in this story. Hope you enjoy.

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_

Halt took in a deep breath. Then, gathering his courage, he stepped off of the boat and into Araluen. This was the place. His new life was going to start right here. The only question was, what to do with it? Well, first things first, he needed to know where he was going.

Obviously he needed to find a town. But not one of those small places, somewhere big. And in his experience, the only place you were guaranteed a big town was around a castle. Right. So all he had to do was find a castle. That couldn't be too difficult. He started off down the worn dirt path through the trees.

* * *

The path had narrowed throughout the day until it was little more than a game trail. Tall, gnarled pines closed in on the path, blocking most of the sunlight and giving the trail a gloomy look. If ever there was a place for all of the old frightening stories from Halt's childhood to come true, it was here.

A noise. Halt whirled, searching the trees behind him, but saw nothing. Strange. He could have sworn he'd heard something. He shrugged. He was just on edge, that was all. He turned back, only to come face to chest with a huge man.

Halt slowly looked up until he could see the man's face. It wasn't exactly a pleasant sight, as his mouth was twisted into a sneer, an altogether too threatening sneer. Halt had to find a way out of this. He looked around, and saw more bandits (for that's surely what this man was) coming out of the trees to surround him. He had to act fast. Perhaps he could talk his way out of this?

"Oh. I'm sorry, I seem to be blocking your way. Let me just walk around here an-" His voice was cut off into a squeak as he found himself being lifted into the air by the front of his shirt, to look into the eyes of the huge man.

"Where you goin' kid?"

Halt gulped. Truth be told, he was terrified. Nothing of this sort had ever happened to him before (being a Hibernian prince and all) and he wasn't quite sure what to do. His best option, he decided, was to distract the brute.

"Well you see, my great old aunty on my mother's side, she's sick, see, and my dear old mother, bless her heart, well she just wasn't-" he stopped once more as he felt the cold steel of a dagger press up against his throat.

"Enough of that. You got any money?"

Halt shook his head slightly. "No, not really, no."

The bandit put on a mock concerned face. "Oh, that's a darn shame. Isn't it boys?" He addressed the circle of accomplices that were now standing around him and Halt. They grunted their agreement. "You know, I really hate it when this happens, really I do. See, I know you've got some money on you somewhere, I'll just have to-" but now _his_ words turned into a cry of pain as he fell to the ground, dropping both Halt and the dagger in the process.

Halt landed lightly,and, moving quickly, snatched up the knife and whirled to face the other bandits. The other four men had bewildered expressions on their faces, not quite sure what had befallen their leader, who was doubled over on the ground, screaming (in a rather high pitched voice) for them to kill the boy.

Shaking themselves out of the temporary stupor that had befallen them, the four remaining men moved toward the small boy with the dagger. Two had swords, one a club, and the other a somewhat crooked spear. One of the men with a sword, a stocky fellow in a green jacket, motioned to the others to stand back. This was, after all, only one man, a boy really, armed only with a dagger. He was a full grown man with a sword. Of course, the bandit hadn't taken into the account that this was one small boy who could throw a knife. The short dagger flew from Halt's hand and into the bandit's stomach. He dropped the sword and doubled over, holding the now gushing wound.

One down.

Halt hurried to take up the abandoned sword. He stood and turned just in time to block a swordstroke from the other bandit. But what he didn't see was the man with the club coming up from behind. He registered the movement of the club just early enough to realize that it was too late to do anything. He tried to brace himself for the blow, but just then, he heard a sort of whistling sound move past his ear and the man fell to the ground, screaming in pain.

Two down.

Halt focused his attention back on the swordsman. Now, Halt was no great hand with a sword. He was really far too small to use one properly. In fact, his learning to use one had been more of a technicality than anything. Royalty was expected to use a sword, so he had learned to use one. So had Ferris. But Halt had never shown any great ability with the weapon, in fact, he had no great interest in it. After all, hacking at someone with a sharp piece of metal got boring after a while. But the point was, Halt knew how to wield a sword, but the bandit, it was becoming increasingly obvious, did not. Halt blocked stroke after stroke, gaining no ground, but losing none either, until, finally, he decided it was time to go on the offensive.

Halt slashed and jabbed at the bandit, moving quickly so that he had no opportunity to block the nuisance strokes. He inflicted a few shallow cuts and nicks on the man, and all the while he was gaining ground on him. Eventually he was able to slam the flat of the blade into the bandit's sword hand, causing him to howl in pain and drop the sword. Quickly, Halt slammed the pommel of the sword into the bandit's skull, stopping the scream, and causing him to lose consciousness, instantly.

Three down.

Now where was the spear-man? The Hibernian boy looked around and spotted the man lying on the ground, a gray shafted arrow sticking out of his leg. The man was groaning, obviously it was a painful wound. Halt scanned around and noticed the ringleader of the group. He walked over and calmly drove the pommel in the back of his head too. Then he whirled and raised the sword as he heard a rustle in the trees behind him.

A man materialized from the trees. He was wearing a green and gray cloak, and gripping a long bow in his left hand. Halt decided that this man was the source of the arrows sticking out of the bandit's legs. He started towards Halt.

"What's your name kid?"

"Halt."

The man stopped. He wasn't going to take chances with this kid; he was small, but obviously knew his way around a sword. He shoved the cowl back from his head, revealing a pleasant and clean-shaven face with brown hair. He held up one hand in a peace making gesture. "Hey, listen kid, I'm not gonna hurt you or anything..."

The boy shook his head. "No. My _name_ is Halt."

"Oh." He walked the few remaining paces to stand next to the boy. Gingerly, he put his hand on the sword and forced Halt to lower it.

"Care to tell me what you're doing out here alone?"

The kid shrugged. "I don't have anyone to be with."

The man studied him for a moment. He was short, with messy black hair and dark brown eyes. "How old are you?"

"Seventeen."

The man did a double take. He looked closer to fourteen. Although, his voice did sound pretty deep. The man suspected that he would have noticed this earlier if it hadn't been for the kid's thick Hibernian accent.

Wait. What was a seventeen year old Hibernian kid doing alone in Araluen?

"Where are your parents?"

The boy lowered his eyes. "A long ways from here." There was a note of sadness in his voice, and the man decided not to press the subject.

"Where are you headed, kid?"

The boy looked uncertain. "I'm not really sure," he answered truthfully.

"Well then. You should have no problem coming with me." The man turned and walked towards the trees, leaving a very distressed Hibernian boy in his wake.

"Wait! I don't even know who you are!"

"Name's Jared," he called back.

"How do I know I can trust you?"

Jared walked back out of the trees, now leading a bay horse.

"I just saved your life, didn't I?" Halt thought about the man with the club.

"Well...yes."

Jared could see the boy was still reluctant. "Listen. I live about a week away from here. You come with me, and once we get there you can go wherever you want. Alright?"

The kid eyed him suspiciously. "Why do you want me to come with you?"

"You're seventeen years old, I'm not leaving you out here alone."

The kid thought about this for a moment. Halt wasn't sure what it was, but there was something about this man that seemed trustworthy.

"Well...okay."

Jared swung up astride his horse and gestured for Halt to get up behind him. The Hibernian boy hesitated.

"Shouldn't you do something with these people?" Halt gestured to the five bandits, three of whom were unconscious, while the other two lay groaning with arrows in their legs.

"Oh, some knights will be along to pick them up soon."

Halt shot one last glance around at them, then shrugged and hopped up in the saddle behind Jared.

* * *

_And there it is. Not the best chapter, but it was mostly for introducing Jared. But the good news is, we are almost to the fun part, which should be coming up in the next couple chapters or so. Oh, and remember my legitimate theory about Halt knowing how to use a sword? Well, in case you didn't get it in the chapter, here it is:_

_Kings carry swords. All of them. You never hear of a king not carrying a sword. Halt was going to be the king of Clonmel, so it follows that he would have used a sword. Also, Gilan uses a sword. He had been using one for several years before becoming Halt's apprentice. So he started practicing with a sword when he was fairly young. _

_Now, as close as I can figure, Halt was about 17 when he left Hibernia (which is why he's 17 in this story). Since Gilan would have been about 15 when he became Halt's apprentice, we can assume that Halt would have been practicing with a sword for years. See? Not a bad theory, but there's also this: in Kings of Clonmel Ferris uses a sword. Why would your twin brother know how to use a sword and not you? _

_Anyway, that's my Ranger's conspiracy theory. Halt used to know how to use a sword, but chose to stop and learn to shoot a bow at some point in his life. _

_Ew. I got all monologue-y there. Sorry about that. Please review! :P _


	3. Come Together

Chapter Three:

**Come Together**

by The Beatles

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_Yay! New chapter. This one took a while, but I'm working on making them longer. Hmm... I'm not sure what to say about this one, so... enjoy. And review!_

* * *

It was a few days later, around sunset, and Halt and Jared found themselves riding towards a small cabin built just at the edge of the forest. After having followed the trail through the woods for roughly two days it had widened out into a proper road, wide enough for several men to walk abreast. It was still dirt, of course, but the trees had thinned out and the sun had finally been able to make an appearance through the foliage. They had veered off of the main road and through a field before arriving here, at what Halt assumed was Jared's home.

Jared turned slightly in the saddle to look at the Hibernian boy behind him.

"The gates at the castle are closing right about now. You won't be able to get in, so you can just stay here for the night." And Halt understood from his tone that no matter what he said to protest, the matter was settled.

Jared slid down from the saddle, then a thought seemed to strike him. He looked up at Halt. "Oh, I should have warned you. I have an appr-"

But he was interrupted by the cabin door bursting open and an excited voice calling out, "Jared! You're back! How'd it go? Did you catch them?" A blonde haired boy was happily making his way towards them, talking all the way, seemingly without pausing for air. "I still don't see why I didn't get to go, I mean - Oh. Who are you?"

Upon reaching them, the boy seemed to have noticed Halt for the first time. Jared spoke before Halt could be barraged by questions from his apprentice.

"Crowley, this is Halt. He's staying here for the night. Halt, this is Crowley; my apprentice."

The blonde boy - Crowley - smiled broadly up at Halt, who was still sitting on the horse.

"Hi. It's nice to meet you." Halt raised a hand in greeting. "You know, Halt's kind of a weird name, I mean, why not just Stop? Where did you come from? How long are you gonna stay? I just turned sixteen. How old are you?" He looked expectantly up at Halt.

"Uh... Seventeen."

Crowley looked disappointed for a split second. "Oh. Well, I won't hold it against you. So, do you-"

Jared decided to save Halt. He stepped forward.

"Crowley, I hope you have some kind of food cooking."

Crowley clapped his hands together excitedly (Halt was beginning to think he did everything excitedly) and suddenly set off toward the house.

"Yes! You're going to love this Jared, it's delicious! Just wait, you aren't going to believe how..." His voice tapered off as he went back into the cabin. Jared turned to Halt, grinning.

"He makes quite an impression, doesn't he?"

Halt nodded. "Is he always like that?" he asked as he slid down from the saddle.

Jared sighed. "Yep. Pretty much. I try to tire him out as much as possible, but..." Halt nodded his understanding. "Anyway, you go on in the house and I'll take care of Bullseye."

When Halt got in the house he found that Crowley, had, in fact, made dinner. He was setting plates on the table when Halt wandered into the small kitchen.

"I hope you like stew, 'cause that's what we're having," Crowley said, without so much as turning to look at Halt.

"Uh, yes, that's fine."

"You know, I am an excellent cook, if I do say so myself." Jared chose that moment to reappear in the kitchen.

"I don't know if I'd say 'excellent' Crowley," he commented.

"Yes you would," Crowley said, now filling three bowls with the stew.

Jared rolled his eyes and turned to face Halt. "Well, kid, you can stay in Crowley's room tonight. I think we have a cot around here somewhere."

"It's in the closet," Crowley said as he set the bowls around the wooden table.

"I'm glad you keep track of these things Crowley. You haven't done anything to it, have you?"

"Of course not. Since when do I tamper with your things?" he asked innocently.

"Since the day you got here," he said as he sat down in one of the wooden chairs placed around the table. Halt and Crowley followed suit. Halt started in on the stew while Jared and Crowley continued their banter. Suddenly, Crowley turned to Halt.

"So, what do you think? Aren't I a great cook?"

"It's really good," Halt acknowledged.

"See? I told you," Crowley said to Jared in a superior tone. Jared looked at Halt.

"Don't encourage him. He's got a big enough ego already."

"I do not. My ego has so much room to grow. Do you want coffee?" Halt was thrown for a moment by the sudden change in topic, but Jared seemed used to it.

"Do you have to ask?" he said.

"Well, it seemed polite." Jared stared skeptically at Crowley.

"Since when have you cared about being polite?"

"I don't know. Since today?" Crowley shrugged.

"Just get the coffee."

"Yes sir." Crowley stood from the table and turned back to the small stove behind them. He snatched up a coffee pot and placed three mugs on the table. He filled the mugs with the sweet smelling liquid and handed one to Halt and Jared, and kept one for himself. He replaced the pot on the stove and sat down.

Jared and Crowley took long drinks from their mugs and sighed appreciatively. Halt sniffed at his experimentally. He took a sip and immediately spat it back out.

"That's disgusting!"

Jared and Crowley looked appalled. "No it's not!" Crowley said.

"Yes it is! It's terrible!"

Jared looked slightly offended. "Well if you're not going to drink it, give it here." Halt gladly handed the mug over.

Shaking his head, he finished off his own mug, then started on the one that Halt had abandoned. Crowley finished off his, then refilled the mug a second time. Halt eyed the two of them curiously.

"What exactly do you guys do?" he asked.

"We're Rangers," Jared answered, as though that explained everything. And to an extent, it did. Halt had heard vague rumors of Rangers. They were supposed to be some kind of magicians, able to disappear at will. But then, these two really didn't strike Halt as magicians. If anything, they were the least threatening people he'd ever met.

Jared yawned. "Well, time for bed. Crowley, set up the cot for Halt."

Crowley stood and set his mug in the small sink before moving off towards the living room of the cabin. Jared looked at Halt for a moment.

"Crowley's room is the first door in the hall, you can borrow some of his sleeping clothes," he stood,"Goodnight."

"Goodnight," Halt said. Jared walked off into the living room, and Halt followed soon after. When Halt entered the first room in the hall he found Crowley setting a blanket on to the small cot that he was to sleep on. The room was small, with a bed against one wall, a dresser against the other, and a window that gave a view of the forest outside.

"You can borrow some of my sleeping clothes, they're in the dresser over there," Crowley said. Halt nodded and went to rummage through the drawers. It took him a while to find anything close to his size, since Crowley, though a year younger, was bigger than Halt. He changed quickly and dropped his clothes next to the cot. He lay down and turned over to face the window. Crowley had already crawled into bed.

"Goodnight Halt."

"Goodnight."

Halt closed his eyes.

* * *

Halt yawned. Then he turned over and stretched before opening his eyes. Early morning sunshine was streaming in through the windows of Crowley's bedroom. Halt blinked lazily then stretched again before getting out of the borrowed cot. Last night had been the best night's sleep he'd gotten for weeks.

He ran a hand through his sleep mussed hair. He thought about combing it, but decided against it. Back at Dun Kilty, he had always been expected to look clean and orderly, perfectly presentable. But he wasn't in Dun Kilty, he was in a little log cabin on the edge of the woods in Araluen, and he was going to stay in this too big shirt and borrowed pants that didn't quite fit, and he was never going to fix his hair again.

If he was going to leave that life behind, he may as well do it thoroughly. And then, reveling in his own messiness, Halt made his way to the living room of the cabin. But, upon smelling food cooking, he veered off into the kitchen, where he found Crowley arranging bacon onto two plates.

"Oh, hi. It's a good thing you're awake. I was about to go see if you were dead."

Halt couldn't think of a reply to that, so he moved past it.

"Can I have some of that?" He asked of the delicious smelling breakfast in Crowley's hands.

"Oh, yeah. This plate's for you. Jared isn't here right now, he had to make his report to the Baron. He'll be back later."

Halt gratefully took the offered plate from Crowley and sat down at the wooden table. Crowley followed suit. The two ate in silence for a moment. But only for a moment.

"So, you're from Hibernia, right?"

Halt nodded.

"Well that's cool. I've never actually been to Hibernia before, but I've been to-," He suddenly sat up straight in his chair,"Oh! I just remembered! I was supposed to tell you, Jared says that today is market day at the castle and there's no chance you'll be able to find a room at the inn, so you can stay with us for another day and leave tomorrow. He also told me to tell you not to argue because the matter is settled."

"Oh. Okay."

"So I guess you'll be spending the day with me, then. What do you want to do?"

Halt stared blankly at him. "I, uh, don't know. We can do whatever you want."

Crowley eyed him for a second. "What if I wanted to go jump off a cliff into boiling oil?"

"Ah, maybe not that."

Crowley grinned. "See? We can't do _anything _I want. Now, how do you feel about going to have a look at the market stalls?"

"Uh... Alright."

Crowley clapped his hands together and jumped up from the table. "Great! Now I just have to find some money. Jared keeps moving his hiding place. Could you put those dishes in the sink? Thanks. I'll be back in a second." Crowley set off through the door of the kitchen. Halt stood and placed the used dishes into the sink. Then he went back to Crowley's room to put on some normal clothes. Halt emerged wearing brown leggings and a black leather jerkin. Crowley emerged from Jared's room at the back of the house, triumphantly holding a purse full of coins.

"Oh, good, you're ready, let's go." Crowley snatched up his cloak from a peg by the door and Halt followed him out. They walked to the castle, as it wasn't very far, and the weather was fair. Crowley talked the whole way, of everything from the sky to wars in distant countries.

When they reached the small town outside of the castle they veered left into the town square, where the market took place every week. The square was crowded with people of all kinds, Farmers and vendors came from miles around to sell their wares. It was noisy in the square, due to the haggling and yelling of villagers, and the various noises from their animals.

Halt had never really experienced a market before, he'd been to some at Dun Kilty, but he was always accompanied by guards. He had never been allowed to just wander around and look at all of the stalls. This was a novel experience for him.

Halt was looking around at all of the various peoples and animals crowding the square, enjoying himself, as Crowley looked around at the stalls. He kept picking up various small items, necklaces, stones, and the like, turning them around in his hands, then shaking his head and setting them back down. Finally, Halt had to ask.

"What are you looking for?"

"A gift. One of my friends is having a birthday soon, and I want to get her a present."

"What kind of present?"

"I'm not sure. I was thinking some kind of jewlery... Will you help me look?"

"Sure." Halt examined the wares of the nearest table. Seeing nothing of great interest he moved on to the next one. He was just beginning to wonder how he was supposed to find a gift for someone he didn't know when a flash of blue caught his eye. He turned to look at the stall behind him, and saw a necklace hanging on a stand, flashing in the light. He walked over to look at it.

The necklace was a simple stone hanging from a thin chain, it wouldn't be anything special, if it weren't for the color of the stone. It was the deepest blue that Halt had ever seen, and the colors seemed to shift and move, almost as though the necklace was pulsing from within.

"Hey Crowley," Halt called, still staring at the stone, "Come look at this."

"What is it?" Crowley glanced over. He noticed Halt staring intently at something and stepped over. He too was struck by the beauty of the blue stone. Both boys were stuck staring at it, almost hypnotized. Their trance was broken by the sudden appearence of the stall owner.

"Well, young sirs, what can I do for you?"

Crowley shook himself and looked up into the face of a shaggy brown haired man with a thick beard. He was smiling broadly at them.

"How much is this necklace?" he asked.

"Ah," the man snatched the necklace off of the stand and let it hang by it's chain in his hand, "This is a special necklace. It's an amo stone, very rare. Legend has it that the stone will change colors from blue to green when you meet your true love. I could sell it to you for two gold crowns."

"Two? Isn't that a bit steep? I'll give you one."

"One? That's highway robbery young sir."

"Alright. One gold crown and one silver."

The stall owner grinned. "You've got a deal young man." Crowley fished inside the purse and brought out the two coins. The man handed the necklace to Crowley.

"For someone special, is it?"

"You could say that."

"She'll love it."

"That's the idea." Crowley walked off, quite happy with his purchase, Halt following at his heels.

* * *

_ So there it is. Odd stopping point, I know. But I wasn't sure where else to go with it. Uh... Yeah, hope you enjoyed. And I hope that you review. Oh, and let me just take this opportunity to say that IT'S SUMMER! :D_


	4. Trying to Stop Your Leaving

Chapter Four:

**Trying to Stop Your Leaving**

by Dierks Bentley**

* * *

**

_Hey peoples. So guess what? I really like this story. I think it might turn into my favorite. Not this particular chapter, but some that I have for the future. This chapter is just kind of necessary, it's the important part before I can just start writing happy fluff. The upshot of this is that this story will be getting updated often. And a side note, all of the chapter titles are song titles. But the songs actually have nothing to do with the chapters. It's just that the titles fit with the chapter. Uh... So hope you and enjoy. And review. _

* * *

When Halt woke up the next morning he couldn't speak. Crowley greeted him with a cheerful "Good morning" but when Halt tried to answer back his voice came out as a high pitched squeak. His eyes widened in shock and his hand flew to his throat. Crowley looked concerned.

"Well _that_ doesn't sound good. You lie back down, I'll go get Jared."

Halt complied, sitting down on the borrowed cot. Crowley made his exit, calling loudly "Jared! Halt's gone mute!"

Jared was up and opening his door before Crowley made it all the way down the hall. His hair was mussed from sleep and he was still wearing his night clothes. He ran a hand over his eyes.

"What's wrong Crowley?"

"It's Halt. He can't talk."

"He can't t-," He rubbed his eyes with the heels of his hands,"Okay. Let me get dressed and I'll see what's wrong."

He disappeared inside his room for a minute and emerged wearing his regular clothes, still looking as though he had been roused from a deep sleep. He hurried into Crowley's room and over to the cot where Halt was sitting. He looked the boy over. His hair was messier than usual, and he had a slightly worried look on his face, but other than that, he seemed normal.

"So, you can't talk?" Halt shook his head. "At all?" Halt opened his mouth and a squeak came out. "Ah. I see. Does your throat hurt?" Halt tilted his hand back and forth to indicate 'a little bit.' "Does anything else hurt?" Halt shook his head. "You feel dizzy or anything?" Halt shook his head.

"Hmmm..." Jared put the back of his hand on Halt's forehead and nodded. "You, sir, have a fever. Lie back down," He turned to Crowley, "Crowley, you watch him. I'm gonna go get the healer," He turned back to Halt, "I'll be back in a little bit, don't you even think about moving. Got it?"

Halt nodded. "Good." Jared made his exit and quickly went out to the stables and saddled his bay horse. Then he rode like the wind to the castle. He hurried to the healer's room, who was already awake, and explained quickly that the boy staying with him was sick. The healer gathered her things and she and Jared were riding back to the cabin within minutes. When they entered Crowley's room they found Crowley looking bored on his bed and Halt lying down on the cot staring at the ceiling. Both boys looked at the door as it opened. Jared walked over to Halt.

"This is Michelle. She's the healer." Halt nodded. "You can sit up now." Halt hurried to do so. Jared stepped away from the cot to allow Michelle room to work. The healer was a woman of medium height, with kind blue eyes and light blonde hair. She studied Halt for a moment.

"So, I hear we have a problem with your throat."

Halt nodded.

"Can you talk at all?"

Halt again made that little squeaking noise.

"Does it hurt?"

Halt tilted his hand back and forth.

"Alright. Let me have a look."

Halt opened his mouth and tilted his head back. Michelle peeked inside at his throat.

"Yep. That's swollen alright. No wonder you can't speak. Alright, you can close it now."

Halt obeyed and looked up at the healer. Michelle put her hand on Halt's forehead.

"Well, your fever isn't too bad. I think what you need is a lot of rest." She turned and started rummaging through her bag. "I'll leave these herbs with you Jared - they'll help his throat- and give him a few drops of this if his fever gets any worse, and come get me if anything new develops. In a few days I think he'll be fine."

Jared nodded. "Is there anything else?"

"Keep him warm, lots of liquids, the usual."

"Thanks Michelle."

The healer nodded slightly. Then she turned to Halt. "You get better young man." Halt nodded. "Alright. Then I'll see you in a few days."

Jared and Michelle left the room, closing the door behind them. Once they were out of earshot of the two boys the healer turned to the Ranger.

"Where'd you get that kid Jared?"

"Down by the coast. He took out a couple of the bandits I was tracking. I couldn't leave him out there alone, so I brought him here."

"That was probably the right thing to do. How old is he? Fourteen?"

"Seventeen, actually."

The healer raised both eyebrows. "Is he going to stay with you?"

"He was supposed to leave today. I don't know where he wants to go, but he's old enough to make his own decisions I suppose."

"Right. Well, make sure he doesn't leave until he's gotten over this bug."

"I will."

"Good. I'll see you later."

"Thanks. See you."

And with that the healer left. Jared went back to Crowley's room. He clapped his hands together.

"Alright Crowley. Just because he's sick doesn't mean you get a vacation. Go eat something, then I want you shooting targets until your arms give out, got it?"

Crowley stood and gave a mock salute. "Aye aye."

"Cute." He turned towards the cot,"You go back to sleep kid."

Halt nodded and closed his eyes.

* * *

When Halt woke again the bright light of early afternoon was coming in through the window. He looked around the room for a few minutes, contemplating whether or not he should get up and face Jared's potential wrath, or lay there and wait for someone to come in. As it turned out, he needn't have worried, as Jared chose that moment to enter. He cracked the door open, then, when he noticed Halt looking at him, opened it all the way.

"Good, you're awake. Feel like eating?" Halt nodded. "Alright. Crowley made you some soup, you want to eat in here or in the kitchen?" Halt pointed at the door. "Right, kitchen." Halt stood up then instantly regretted it. He had to sit back down on the cot as a wave of dizziness hit him. Jared looked concerned. "Alright, maybe you'll be eating in here."

Halt leaned back, looking depressed. Of course, Jared realized, he'd been in this room all day. He must have just wanted to get a change of scenery more than anything else. He looked at the newly miserable boy on the cot and felt a sudden stab of sympathy. "But you know, maybe not." The Ranger moved quickly to the cot and scooped up Halt in his arms before the boy realized what was happening. As Jared walked through the door and down the hall Halt tried to protest his actions.

Jared stopped for a moment in the hall and stared pointedly at Halt until he stopped struggling. "Listen kid, if I'm gonna get sick, then I am already. You can't possibly hurt me any more. Now stop squirming." Halt obeyed and allowed himself to be carried to the living room, where Jared placed him on the couch in front of the fireplace. "There. Now you wait here and I'll get your food." Jared made his exit into the kitchen.

Halt stared idly around the small living room. There were three comfortable wooden chairs placed around the room. There was a fireplace against one wall, which all of the chairs in the room faced, including the couch he was sitting on. The door was behind him, and two large windows let light into the room. The floor was wooden, but there were several rugs scattered around. All in all, it was a comfortable room, though small.

Jared reentered, carrying a bowl of broth. He carefully handed the bowl to Halt, then shoved a small table in front of the couch so Halt could set the bowl down instead of having to hold it. Then he fetched Halt's blankets out of Crowley's room and dropped them on the couch. "You can sleep in here for the night. Being next to the fire can't possibly hurt." Halt nodded. "Eat your soup." Halt readily obliged. Jared set to work building a fire.

Before Halt was halfway done with his soup his eyelids were drooping and he fell asleep once more.

* * *

That night Jared checked on Halt before going to bed. By some miracle he had managed to keep Crowley quiet all day, allowing Halt to sleep without being woken every five minutes. The Ranger studied the sleeping boy. His face was more relaxed now, in sleep, than Jared had ever seen it. His mouth was open slightly and he was breathing softly, giving him the look of a small child. Halt's hair was plastered to his face from sweat. His fever had broken briefly earlier in the day, but had come back. Jared patted the boy's blankets back into place. He shook himself. He really needed to stop worrying about this kid. In a few days he would be better and he wouldn't be Jared's problem anymore. But even as the Ranger turned and walked down the hall to his own bedroom, he knew that wasn't true.

* * *

"You can't do that."

"What? What do you mean?"

"If you take troops around that side then your left flank is unguarded and the enemy can take them out as they please."

It had been three days since Halt had first gotten sick, and he was fast on the mend. He'd gotten his voice back, and he no longer had a fever. But, at the insistence of the healer Michelle, Halt was spending one more day resting. Currently he was sitting on the small couch in the living room watching Jared and Crowley go through tactical exercises.

Jared looked pointedly at Crowley. "See? He can get it and he's sick." Crowley glared at Jared.

"I feel the need for food. Is anyone else hungry?"

"Nice subject change Crowley," Jared said. Crowley grinned.

"I thought so. But seriously, can't we stop for lunch?"

"Oh, alright."

"Yes!" Crowley hurried into the kitchen before Jared could change his mind.

The older Ranger turned to look at Halt. "How're you feeling?"

Halt shrugged. "I don't know, normal?"

"That's good. So I suppose you'll be leaving in the morning?"

"I suppose so," Halt agreed.

"Where are you gonna go?"

"Well, to the castle for starters, and then, I'm not sure." Suddenly Crowley popped his head back through the door to the kitchen.

"Why don't you just stay here?"

Halt looked startled at the suggestion. Staying with Jared and Crowley had never occured to him.

"Crowley, were you eavesdropping again?" Jared said suspiciously.

"A little bit," he looked at Halt, "Seriously, why don't you stay here?" When Halt showed no signs of answering Crowley turned back to Jared, "Couldn't you make him your second apprentice or something?"

"Hmm... It'd be highly irregular." He studied Halt intentley for a few long moments. Halt resisted the urge to squirm under his gaze. Crowley, however, did squirm.

"But Jared, when have you ever done the NORMAL thing?"

"Ah, that's true, I do enjoy being strange," He turned back to Halt, "Why not? You can't possibly be any more trouble than Crowley. And we always need more Rangers. If you want, you can stay."

Halt thought about it. These people had let him stay in their house for over a week and taken care of him when he was sick. They'd shown him more kindness than anyone else ever had. And he liked them. They were interesting, funny people, and they were enjoyable company. Halt chewed on his lower lip for a moment.

"Please stay Halt. It's way more fun when you're around," Crowley was sending him his best pleading look. Jared was smiling encouragingly at him.

"Alright."

"Yes!" Crowley actually jumped in excitement. "Jared, we have to celebrate. This is an important occasion. We should go to the inn, we should have a special dinner. Please?"

Jared grinned at his overly excited apprentice. "Sure."

"Oh this is great! Halt you're gonna be a Ranger, and you get to hang out with me all the time. What more could you ask for? I bet-"

"Crowley, food," Jared interjected.

"Oh, right. I'll go get it. You just wait..." Crowley entered the kitchen once more. Jared turned to grin at Halt.

"I hope you know what you've gotten yourself into," he said, glancing meaningfully at the kitchen door.

"So do I," Halt said.

* * *

_Hey, hey, hey! Guess what? I just remembered that I put a Toy Story reference in here! Because, as you may or may not remember, Jared's horse is named Bullseye. I'm so clever. And modest. Modestly clever, is probably the correct term. And I'm sure none of you even know what I'm talking about. But there is a reference in the beginning of the chapter. _

_ Anyway, hope you enjoyed the chapter. The next ones are going to fluff! I love fluff! It makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Except for this is going to be funny fluff. Which is better. _

_ Now, don't be a pink hippopotamus on steroids! Review! :D_


	5. Too Shy

Chapter Five:

**Too Shy**

by Kajagoogoo

* * *

_Hi peoples. So, this chapter is once again just introducing characters. Once again, the actual songs have nothing to do with the chapters. Yeah, I have nothing else to say at this point, so... enjoy!_

* * *

"Come _on_ Halt." Crowley grabbed Halt by the arm and urged him forward. It had been a week since Halt had agreed to stay with Jared and Crowley and become a Ranger. It had also been one week since Crowley had made it his personal mission to give Halt a social life. As such, they were now heading off to a birthday party. One of Crowley's friends, the one he had bought the necklace for at the market, was turning sixteen. Her parents were allowing her to have a party at her house.

Crowley had been invited, and had decided that he had the right to bring a friend. No one had ever called Halt their friend before. His station in life had been too far above everyone else for any normal people to feel comfortable around him. As such, the only person he ever could have called his friend was Caitlyn, and she didn't really count, seeing as how she was his sister. So having a friend, a real friend, was a wonderful new experience for Halt. He had agreed to come to this party largly out of unexpressed gratitude.

They reached the house, located just at the edge of the small town outside of the castle. It was a tidy little affair, with painted white walls, a small patch of grass out front, and a large oak tree to one side, complete with a rope swing. Crowley led the way up the front steps and knocked on the door. A blonde girl in a blue dress answered, she smiled broadly when she saw Crowley.

"Hi Crowley, I'm so glad you came."

Crowley smiled back. "Happy birthday Pauline," he stepped slightly to the side so that Halt was visible behind him, "I brought a friend, I hope you don't mind," he gestured at Halt, "Pauline, this is Halt. Halt, this is Pauline."

Pauline turned her smile to Halt. "It's nice to meet you Halt."

Halt swallowed hard and managed to choke out "It's nice to meet you too," in a quiet, but steady, voice. Pauline smiled once more then stepped back from the doorway and gestured for the two Rangers to come inside. The two obliged, and Crowley led the way to a small table piled in wrapped packages. He added his own box to the pile then led Halt around the room full of people, making introductions. The first was to a wavy haired brunette with green eyes and a dark blue dress.

"Rose, I'd like to introduce my friend Halt," he gestured at the boy beside him, "Halt, this is Rose."

"Hello," she said brightly.

"Hi," Halt said in the same low voice that was all he could manage at the moment. The girl looked around the room for a moment then pointed out a small brown haired boy.

"See him? That's my little brother Peter." Halt nodded his understanding.

"Oh look, there's Christina and Ethan, let's go say hi. Come on Halt." And Halt found himself being dragged off yet again. For roughly half an hour Crowley introduced Halt to the rest of the party guests. It was a parade of faces and names that Halt had no hope of remembering. He was finally saved when the cake was served. At that point all of the people in the room crowded around a table where Pauline was seated. After singing the obligatory birthday song, the cake was cut and pieces were handed out.

By this point Crowley had lost all of his patience. He finished off his cake then hurried to grab the wrapped box he had placed on the present table earlier. He rushed back over and announced that it was present time. Everyone crowded around and watched as Pauline carefully unwrapped the small box. When she opened it everyone in the room gasped. Pauline held up the blue necklace to be admired.

"Thank you Crowley. It's beautiful." She stood and hugged her friend.

"Aw, it was nothing. You're welcome." She smiled brightly and carefully set the necklace aside before moving on to her other presents. As all of the guests crowded around the birthday girl, Halt stood back. He felt out of place here, among people he didn't know. Suddenly he couldn't wait for this party to be over.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity to Halt, the presents were all opened. People began to trickle out of the door as they said their goodbyes to Pauline and wished her a happy birthday once more. As Crowley made his way towards the pretty blonde girl another girl approached Halt. She was short, with honey blonde hair and a pleasant face. Her name was Amy, Halt remembered with some difficulty.

"So, how do you know Crowley?" she asked pleasantly.

"I, uh, I'm Jared's new apprentice," he said in a voice that he hoped didn't sound half strangled.

"Oh, a Ranger. That's exciting. I didn't know Jared had a new apprentice."

"Yes, well," he glanced over towards Crowley, who was smiling as he made his way towards them, "Um, I, I have to go. Sorry, uh, I'll see you." He hurried toward Crowley and steered the blonde boy out of the front door before he could do any more damage to himself.

Once the two boys were safely outside Crowley turned on Halt. "Why didn't you talk to her? It's so obvious she likes you." Halt mumbled something and stared down at his shoes. Crowley's eyes widened in realization.

"Wait. Are you _shy_? But you talk to me all the time. Or, wait, you don't talk very much at all, do you? I talk, you listen. Oh my God, I can't believe I just realized this. I talk too much, oh, I'm doing it now, I can't stop I-" Crowley slapped a hand over his mouth. Halt sighed.

"Crowley, you don't talk too much."

"Mrmmphhmpphr."

"Take your hand off of your mouth," Halt said in an exasperated tone. Crowley obliged.

"I said, no one has ever told me that before."

"Well, now they have. If you don't believe me, you can ask Jared."

"I will."

"That's what I thought."

"Let's go."

* * *

"Jared, do I talk too much?"

Jared looked up as the two boys entered the room. His eyes darted between the two of them for a few moments before he answered.

"Is there some problem I should know about?"

Halt smirked. "Crowley thinks he talks too much."

"Ah. And this is a problem because?"

"He also thinks I don't talk enough."

"Oh. Well then, yes. Crowley, you talk far too much, and Halt, you don't speak nearly enough. But together, you're almost a normal person."

"Almost?" Crowley asked.

"Yes. You can't be completely normal because you're apprentices. Apprentices are always somewhat odd. It's really not your fault. Can't be helped," Jared said, with a sad shake of the head. Both boys stared at him for approximately three seconds before spinning on their heels and marching back outside. Jared smiled slightly to himself then stretched and settled back down into his chair.

"Ah, silence," he said contentedly.

* * *

_ So, now that we've met everyone, this story is going to get a lot more fun. Sorry this chapter was so short, but I'm kinda excited to get the next few up. Hope you've enjoyed it thus far. And don't be a moose driving a green pickup! Review!_


	6. The Truth

Chapter Six:

**The Truth**

by Jason Aldean

* * *

_ Wow. I'm already on chapter six. I just want to take this opportunity to say that this is by far the longest story I've ever written. And it's not even finished yet. Also, the 'Gallican' in this chapter is just French off of Google Translate. So if it's wrong, I'm sorry, but I don't know how to speak French. Also, I changed the title of this story to A Farewell To Kings, which is a Rush song. I felt it was at least semi-appropriate. Hope you enjoy the chapter. _

* * *

Halt nodded in satisfaction as his last arrow thudded into a target. He had been shooting non stop since this morning, under orders from Jared to 'shoot targets until his arms gave out.' It was one of the Ranger's favorite sayings. A few weeks ago Jared had introduced him to a Ranger's weapons, a bow and two knives. The knives were specially made, one was for throwing, and the other, a saxe knife, was for close quarters fighting. Since he had been introduced to the weapons Halt's life had become a routine of constant practice.

He headed off to gather the arrows he'd shot. As he pulled arrow after arrow out of the targets he felt a tingling sensation at the back of his head. Halt had always been able to sense when someone was watching him. He supposed it came from a combination of deathly shyness and paranoia about being killed by Ferris. He took a moment to reflect on just how messed up that sounded before he called out, "Hi Jared."

"Getting better at this, I see," the Ranger commented.

"At what? Shooting or knowing when you're behind me?" Halt inquired without turning around.

"Both," Jared said. He watched as Halt put the last arrow back into his quiver. "Wanna take a walk?"

"Sure." By now Halt knew that when Jared asked if he wanted to take a walk it wasn't a question, but a command. And it was never just a walk, it was always a lesson in tracking or unseen movement. Halt followed Jared off into the trees.

"What's that one?" Jared asked, pointing at faint marks on the ground.

"Mmmm... Rabbits."

"And?"

Halt looked closer. "A stoat."

"That's right. Now... disappear." Halt moved off into the trees. He used the shadows and movement of the foliage to conceal himself. And there was the added benefit of the Ranger's cloak he was wearing. The garment was dyed in shades of gray and green, in seemingly random splodges. But, Jared had explained that it actually helped to break up the shape of the wearer, providing extra concealment. Halt began to circle around behind Jared, careful not to make a sound. When he was close enough he stood and was just getting ready to yell, when Jared turned around.

"You're good kid, but you're not _that_ good. It'll take a lot more practice to fool me." Halt seemed to deflate somewhat. "Oh, don't look so glum. The average person you could certainly get past. A Ranger, however, takes a bit more work." Halt nodded. "Now then, let's see what other tracks we can find, shall we?"

They continued walking for a bit before Jared stopped and pointed out some prints. Halt studied them for a moment. "People," he said.

"Yes. Now tell me about them."

Halt moved forward and knelt next to the tracks. Jared stayed slightly behind and to his side.

"There's three of them. A man, a woman, and a child. The child was walking between them, but they kept picking him up. They were swinging him. It's a family."

"Good." The Ranger saw the quick flash of a smile that crossed Halt's face at the bit of praise. "I suppose Ferris wouldn't have enjoyed this," Jared said mildly.

"Oh no, he hated the woods, he-" Halt froze and his eyes widened in shock as he realized what he'd just said. He stood very slowly and turned to face the Ranger.

"How did you figure it out?"

Jared rolled his eyes. "Oh come on kid, give me _some_ credit. I mean, a seventeen year old Hibernian kid with the thickest accent I've ever heard shows up in Araluen around the same time as we get news of a new king in Clonmel. And it's not the crown prince we knew of, but his twin brother. No, the crown prince was killed, taken by bandits after hearing the news of his father's death," he paused for a moment to study Halt, who was staring dejectedly off into the trees, "And yet, here you are. Now the only question is, what do we do with you?"

"Please don't send me back Jared. I can't stay there." Halt stared up at his mentor, his eyes pleading for Jared to understand.

"You think I would send you back? Kid, I wouldn't do that to you. I'm sure you have a good reason for leaving, otherwise, why would you?" Halt stared blankly at him,"No, I meant, how do we keep anyone else from finding out. I'm sure there are those, in higher standing than me, who _would_ send you back. We just have to keep you away from those people." Halt, however, was still stuck on one thought.

"But I don't have to go back?"

"No."

"Thank you," Halt launched himself forward and wrapped his arms around the Ranger, "Thank you Jared, thank you so much." Jared was taken aback by Halt's sudden show of actual feeling. This was probably the most emotion he'd ever shown. Jared returned the hug awkwardly and ruffled the tousled mop of black hair before carefully extricating himself from the small boy's embrace. He stepped back and Halt stared up at him expectantly.

"Now then, just because you're a prince, doesn't mean you can slack off on training. And today we have an actual destination in mind."

"We do?"

"Yes. Now lead the way, V_otre Altesse_."

"Yes sir." They walked for a few minutes in silence before Halt said, "Where are we going?"

"You'll see. Don't ask so many questions."

"I only asked one."

"But it felt like three."

"How can it feel like three?"

"You'll understand when you have an apprentice."

"But what if I never have an apprentice?"

"There, see? You just asked your third question." Halt stared at him for a moment before turning away and walking a little bit faster. Jared smiled to himself.

* * *

Jared and Halt walked for over an hour through the woods before reaching several buildings nestled in to the trees. When they got close Jared called out, "Hello Bob!" Suddenly a small, balding man appeared.

"Hullo Ranger. Who's this you've brung to see me?"

"This is Halt, my new apprentice," he turned to Halt, "This is Bob, he trains horses for the Ranger Corps."

"It's nice to meet you sir," Halt said politely. Bob just laughed.

"Hear that Ranger? Calls me sir. Be a good Ranger, this one will."

Jared ignored Bob's laughter. "Is he ready?"

"Yes. And he's one of the better horses I've trained." Bob led the two Rangers around the back of the house to a small paddock. Bob whistled and a shaggy little pony ran up to the fence to greet them. "This here's Aller." Halt barely registered that Bob had spoken as he studied the little horse. He had intelligent brown eyes and a shaggy mane. He was small, nothing like the horses that Halt had ridden at Dun Kilty.

"He's perfect."

Bob smiled at Jared. "I like this one."

"I thought you might," he turned to Halt, "He'll be your horse from now on, kid."

Halt nodded and fondled the horse's soft nose. "What was his name again?"

"Aller," Bob said. Now that he was paying attention, Halt winced slightly. He turned to look at Bob, a slightly pained expression on his face.

"The horse's name is Go?"

Bob shrugged. "In Gallican, but yes. 'Cause once you get him going he's hard to stop." Halt suddenly heard Jared making choking noises. He turned to look at him. The Ranger had both hands over his mouth and his shoulders were shaking. When he saw Halt's face he lost all control and let loose into helpless peals of laughter.

"It's not funny," Halt said indignantly.

"Yes it is! Halt and Go, it's perfect!" Halt watched in an angry silence until Jared finally regained control of himself. "Sorry. Now then, how about we see if you can ride him?"

Halt stooped under the paddock fence and placed one foot in the stirrup. Just before he did so, however, he noticed Jared and Bob smiling. The smiles said 'I know something you don't know, and I'm going to enjoy watching you find out what it is.' He stopped and put his foot back down. "Is something bad going to happen to me?"

The smiles instantly disappeared. "Darn it Ranger, why'd you have to bring a smart one?"

Jared looked with distaste at his small apprentice. "Yes, something bad would have happened to you."

"Young Aller here would have bucked you off."

Halt looked at Jared with an expression of horror on his face. "And you were still gonna let me get on him?"

"Yes. But you went and ruined it. Now we'll just have to tell you. Each Ranger horse is trained so that it can never be stolen. Before a rider mounts one for the first time they have to say certain words, or else they'll be bucked off."

"What words?"

"It's different for each horse," he turned to the little horse trainer, "Bob?"

Bob scrunched his face up as though he couldn't remember. Then his expression cleared and he said, "Oh, yes. This one here, you gotta ask 'Is there a problem?'"

Halt looked skeptical. "Is there a problem?"

"Not to us, to the horse."

Halt turned to the little horse and said, feeling immensely foolish, "Is there a problem?"

Aller neighed and tossed his head. Halt looked curiously at Jared. The Ranger motioned for Halt to get on the horse. Very carefully, Halt did so. He waited for a moment, expecting the little horse to buck like Jared had said, but nothing happened. He tapped his heels against the little horse's sides and he moved off obediently. Halt rode once around the paddock fence then dismounted. Jared grinned.

* * *

"Remind me why we're doing this?" Halt said.

"Because if you're going to be my friend then you have to drink coffee," Crowley replied.

"I thought I was already your friend."

"You are, but to be my _best_ friend, you absolutely _have_ to love coffee."

"Alright. May I ask what exactly you're doing?" Crowley was rummaging around the cabinets of Jared's kitchen. There was a pot of coffee brewing on the stove.

"I'm trying to find stuff to mix into said delicious drink so that you can stand it." He moved over to the table and set down several items. "We've got sugar, milk, not sure what that one is, cream, etcetera."

"And you're going to make me drink all this?"

"Yes." Crowley moved over to the stove and poured some of the coffee into a mug. He didn't fill it all the way, just enough to run a test on. "Let's start with milk." He added some of the milk to the cup, turning the liquid a light brown color. He shoved the mug towards Halt.

The Hibernian boy sniffed it then took a drink. He spat it back out immediately. "Still disgusting."

Crowley frowned. "Alright. Moving on."

They tried, or rather Halt tried, several more mixtures, none of which made the coffee any more bearable. Finally Crowley set the last bit of coffee from the pot in front of Halt. Halt sniffed at it once more, Crowley watching anxiously. Halt took a sip, swilled it around in his mouth for a moment. Crowley watched wide eyed. He swallowed. Halt looked at Crowley, who had a half excited, half hopeful smile on his face. "It's good."

"_Yes_!" Crowley practically jumped into the air with excitement.

Halt smiled slightly at his friend. "What's in it?"

"Honey," Crowley shrugged.

* * *

_ Okay, so I know the ending part is kind of random, but there was no Crowley in this chapter, and I missed him. So, hope you enjoyed. Anything you would like to see in future chapters? Suggestions, comments, or criticism? Then don't be a guitar playing llama from Paraguay, review! (I figure if I say something weird enough you lurkers will start leaving reviews.) :P_


	7. Help!

Chapter Seven:

**Help!**

by The Beatles

* * *

_ A few people asked in the last chapter if Aller was just Abelard. He isn't, it's a different horse. I figure horses live to be twenty, maybe thirty years old. So if Halt had Abelard when he was seventeen then went around being a Ranger for over twenty years Abelard would be dead. Or just really really old. Hmm... _

_ That's all I have to say, so enjoy. :P_

* * *

"Is Crowley here?" The boy didn't wait for an answer but instead forced his way past Halt and into the little cabin. He gave the front room a cursory glance before looking impatiently at Halt. "Well, is he here?" Halt, a little taken aback by the boy's actions, tried to answer, but no words came out, so he just shook his head. The boy gave vent to an exasperated sigh. "Well you're his friend, aren't you?" Halt nodded. "I suppose you'll do. Come on let's go." And before Halt could protest he found himself being dragged out the door by the little boy.

They cut through the fields near the cabin and headed for the road. The boy had a firm hold of Halt's shirt sleeve. He seemed familiar, somehow... Then Halt realized that this was Peter, he'd been at Pauline's birthday party a few months ago. Suddenly he veered off of the road and into the trees. Peter stopped when they reached a girl staring worriedly up a tree. She turned as they approached. Halt recognized her as Rose, Peter's sister.

"Peter! I told you to get Crowley," she said, obviously distressed.

"He wasn't there. This is his friend."

"Oh, well, alright. You'll help me, won't you?"

"Uh, sure," Halt said, "What do you need?"

"My cat's up that tree and he won't come down. Will you go up and get him?"

Halt shot them a look of disbelief. This was the big emergency? Peter made a shooing motion. Halt sighed then started up the tree. He reached the branch with the cat on it fairly easily. He held out his hand to the fluffy little creature. The cat gave him a look that said 'oh, is it time to go?' Halt nodded. Then he realized that he had just nodded in response to an imaginary question.

Wondering if he was going insane he took hold of the little white cat and started on his way down the tree. Luckily the branches were wide and the cat didn't struggle. Halt landed lightly on the ground and held out the white kitten to Rose.

"Cotton!" Rose squealed in delight and hugged the kitten, in addition to pressing kisses into his white fur. The little cat shot a look at Halt that said 'help me'. The Hibernian boy shot him a sympathetic look and shrugged helplessly. Finally Rose seemed to get over having the cat back. Now she turned on Halt. "Thank you Ranger," she bent over and gave Halt a peck on the cheek. Chalk that up as the number one surprise of the day, thought Halt.

"You're welcome," he said, trying to keep the fierce blush from rising to his cheeks. "Well, um," he cleared his throat, "if that's all you needed, then I'll be off." He started walking, trying his hardest to go in a straight line.

"Hey wait!" Halt turned back. "What was your name again?"

"Halt."

"Goodbye Halt."

"Bye Rose."

This time, when he walked away, his legs stayed steady.

* * *

Later that day Rose knocked on Pauline's door. The pretty blonde girl answered and instantly gestured for Rose to come inside. The brown haired girl did so and headed for the kitchen. There was no need to worry about being rude as Rose had known Pauline since she was three years old. This house was like a second home to her. As she rummaged around in the cabinets she called back to Pauline, "Guess what? Cotton got stuck up in a tree today and- oh!" She started as she was tapped on the shoulder unexpectedly. "Crowley! Don't _do_ that!" She turned on the grinning Ranger's apprentice. "So this is where you've been. I was looking for you, you know."

"What did you need?" he asked.

"Well I don't need you anymore. Like I was saying, Cotton got up a tree and he wouldn't come down. But your friend Halt rescued him."

"Really?" he said, more disbelief coming through his voice than he'd intended.

"Yes he did. Why do you sound so surprised?"

"I don't know. Halt just doesn't strike me as the cat rescuing type."

"Well I think it's sweet," said Pauline.

"Yes it is. And he's a lot nicer than you Crowley," she glared at him for a moment, "Speaking of which, are you still going to the dance with me?"

"So far as I know, yes. Why?"

"I was thinking we should all go as a group, the three of us and Halt."

"Why doesn't Halt just go with Pauline?" Crowley asked.

Both girls rolled their eyes. "He doesn't _know_ me Crowley. It would be uncomfortable."

"This way it'll be less formal. There will be less pressure," Rose added.

Crowley shrugged. He really couldn't understand the concept of an awkward situation. He was far too friendly and open to have ever felt uncomfortable around people. But he had learned to trust Pauline and Rose's judgement. "Alright, if that's what you want."

"Good. Now does Halt know about this dance?"

"Uh, no..."

"Well go tell him!" the girls practically shouted at him.

"I will." Crowley moved to sit down at the table then noticed that both girls were still staring at him. "What, now?"

"Yes!"

"Fine." Crowley snatched a roll from the table and made his exit from the room.

* * *

"Hey Halt guess what?" Crowley asked as he walked through the door of the cabin.

"What?"

"There's a dance in two days."

"And?"

"You're going."

"What! Since when?"

"Since about twenty minutes ago."

"I don't want to go."

"It's too late for that. I already said you would."

Halt crossed his arms. "I'm not going."

"Oh come on Halt, don't be stubborn."

"I enjoy being stubborn."

"Well stop."

"No."

"You're going."

"No I'm not."

"Yes you are."

"No."

"Yes."

"No."

"Yes."

"Yes," Halt said.

"No," Crowley said. Halt allowed a smug smile to cross his face. "Hey wait that's not fair! You still have to go."

"Crowley I don't _want_ to go."

"How about if we flip for it?"

"You mean place all of my future pain and embarrassment in the metaphorical hands of a coin?"

"Yes."

"Alright."

"I call heads." Crowley dug in his pocket and pulled out a silver coin. He flipped in up in the air and both boys watched as it rose and fell into Crowley's outstretched palm. He flipped it over onto the opposite wrist, still covered by his hand. Halt leaned closer. Crowley removed his hand.

"Heads!" Crowley called in triumph.

* * *

When Jared returned to the cabin later that day he found his two apprentices sitting in a couple of his carved armchairs which had been turned to face the door. Obviously they were eager for his arrival. He smiled to himself when he saw the miserable look on Halt's face and the ridiculously happy one on Crowley's. He decided to mess with them a bit.

"Hi Crowley. Hi cat rescuer."

Halt looked up sharply at that. "How did you know that?"

"I hear things. And I suppose your next question will be: can we go to the dance? The answer is yes."

"Well that was easier than I expected it to be," said Crowley. Halt hung his head in defeat.

* * *

"Halt wake up," Crowley whispered.

"No."

"Come on you're already awake."

"No I'm not," Halt said in that morning voice that sounds halfway between a whine and a groan. He rolled over and stuck his head under the pillow.

"Fine. I'm moving on to Plan B." Crowley left the room, leaving Halt in peace. But, much to Halt's annoyance, he returned only a few moments later. "Halt, I'm holding a bucket full of water. Get up or I will dump it on you."

"Oh fine," Halt said, all traces of sleep gone from his voice. He sat up and threw back his blanket, to reveal that he was already fully dressed. Crowley stood gaping as he tugged on his boots.

"But, but, you were asleep."

"Crowley," Halt scoffed, "I've been awake for two hours."

Crowley's jaw, along with the bucket in his hand, dropped. "Then why did you pretend to be asleep?"

"Oh," Halt said, moving towards Crowley, "that's very simple. You see," he took the bucket from Crowley, "I just needed to do," he hefted the bucket up so that it was held in both hands, "-this." And he upturned the bucket over Crowley's head, soaking him instantly. Crowley gasped as the ice cold water ran from his head down to his shirt. Then he shoved the wet hair back from his face and glared at Halt.

"Why did you do that?" he said, pronouncing each word very carefully, as though he was trying extremely hard not to just punch Halt in the nose.

Halt dropped the bucket and smiled benevolently. "Because, dear friend, I found this." Halt held up a coin for Crowley's inspection. Then he flipped it up in the air and caught it in his open palm. He looked at it, feigning great interest. "Oh look, heads." Then he flipped it over onto the back of his other hand. "Oh, heads again." On the last word he crossed his arms and stared meaningfully at his friend. "You tricked me Crowley, and I don't appreciate being tricked. I would suggest you never do it again."

"You realize I have to get you for this." Crowley said.

"No you don't. We're even now." Halt noticed the angry look still on Crowley's face. He held up his hands in a gesture of surrender. "Hey, you know, I had to get up pretty early in the morning to fool you."

Crowley thought about this for a moment. Then a slow grin crossed his face. "That's true. Alright, I guess we're even."

A bit of a smile showed on Halt's face. "Good. Now where are we going?" Crowley shook himself, much like a dog, to get some of the water off of his hair and clothes.

"We're going shopping."

"What?"

"Shopping; an activity in which one exchanges money for goods."

"I know what shopping means. Why are we going?"

"Because you need clothes. The dance is tomorrow and you can't just go in the same old clothes you wear every day."

"Why can't I just borrow some of yours?"

"Because they don't fit you Halt. Or haven't you noticed that I'm bigger than you?"

Halt shrugged. "Most people are bigger than me."

"Exactly. I don't know anyone you could borrow clothes from, so we'll just have to buy some."

"Alright." Normally Halt would have protested, but he was in a wonderful mood right now. Something about seeing Crowley drenched with water this early in the morning had a great effect on him.

"Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to change into something dry," Crowley said with a sardonic smile.

"Right. I'll just go wait by the door then." Halt walked out of the little room he shared with Crowley and stationed himself by the front door. He stared idly out the window, at the sun that was just beginning to rise over the hills, staining the sky yellow and pink. What a beautiful start to the day, Halt thought.

* * *

_ So there it is. Sorry it took so long to update this time around, but I was busy. Starting a new job and all. The next chapter will be about the dance, obviously. Hope you enjoyed._

_ Thank you to everyone who has reviewed this story so far, I appreciate your support. And to those of you who haven't: I know you're out there. Reading. Lurking. Not reviewing. Come on people, reviews would be nice. Even if it's just a flame. Yeah, that's right. I just gave you permission to flame this story. Have at it._

_ Thank you all for reading, hope you enjoyed, blah, blah blah, blah, blah blah blah... :P_


	8. Winter Time

Chapter Eight:

**Winter Time**

by The Steve Miller Band

* * *

_ Hi peoples, sorry I disappeared for a while there, but I have an excuse. The Stay Puft Marshmallow Man attacked and I had to go destroy the portal to the underworld in order to save the universe. _

_ Ghostbusters, anyone? Anyone? No? Moving on. I just had a terrible case of selective writers block. I say selective because it was only affecting me on this chapter. It was weird. But the good news is the next chapter is better, and will be up soon. :P_

* * *

"Well don't you two clean up nice," Jared said. And that was true. Halt was wearing a black jerkin with silver thread over a long sleeved white shirt, all newly purchased, of course. Crowley was wearing a dark blue tunic and black trousers. They would have made a nice pair, had it not been for the scowl on Halt's face. "How much did I pay for this?" Jared asked.

"Not much," Crowley said.

"Hm. We'll see about that. Well, have fun, I suppose."

"Not likely," Halt said.

Crowley glared at him for a second. "We will. Come on Halt, let's go." Crowley practically dragged the darkly muttering Hibernian boy out of the house. The two boys saddled their horses and made their way onto the winding road that led to the castle. Crowley made several attempts to start a conversation along the way but Halt remained in a stubbornly angry silence.

As Crowley commented for the twentieth time about how much fun they were going to have Halt sighed deeply. He turned to Crowley. "You know, I should have just jumped in the oil."

"What?"

"When I first met you you suggested we go jump off a cliff into boiling oil. I should have accepted the invitation."

"Don't be ridiculous. It's not that bad."

"Yes it is. The only hope I have left is that something terrible will happen that requires our immediate attention."

Just then, a shout rang out from the fields bordering the road. "Help!" They turned to see a frantic woman running across the field toward them. "You two, Rangers, you've got to help!"

Halt's jaw dropped in amazement, and Crowley whipped his head over to look accusingly at the Hibernian boy. "What did you do?"

Halt shook himself, "What? I didn't do anything. I swear." Halt nudged Aller to turn towards the woman, trotting across the field to her. "Ma'am, what's wrong?"

"My... my... lady," the woman gasped out between panting breaths, "Baby's... coming... too early... need the... healer."

"Where is your mistress?"

"In the... farmhouse... that way." The woman pointed back to the right, where a small house was visible, lights twinkling in the windows.

"Alright. Crowley, take her back to the house, I'm going to go get Michelle."

"But-"

"Don't argue, just do it." With that Halt put his heels to Aller's sides, sending the little horse galloping toward the castle. Crowley held down a hand to the still panting woman and helped to swing her up into the saddle behind him, then set his own horse galloping off.

* * *

"Michelle!" Halt called as he rushed into the infirmary. He skidded to a stop in front a passing apprentice. "Where's the healer?" he demanded.

"Sh- She's over there, but she's with a patien-"

Halt didn't wait for the startled apprentice to finish before running in the direction they had indicated. When he saw the petite blonde woman inspecting a bandaged man he made no hesitation in grabbing her by the sleeve and dragging her after him. "Halt, what are you doing? What's wrong?"

"There's a woman having a baby out on one of the farms. It's come too early and she needs your help."

Michelle nodded. "Let me get my bag and I'll meet you at the stables. Halt nodded and let go of her sleeve. When the healer arrived at the stables she swung up astride the first available horse, paying no mind to the fact that the dress she was wearing definitely wasn't made for riding.

It took the pair a somewhat longer time to reach the little house than it had for Halt to reach the castle. This was due to the fact that Michelle's horse wasn't as sure footed as Aller. To prevent the horse from tripping in the dark Michelle had to go at a much slower pace than she would have liked. But all the same they reached the small house in time.

Halt led the way through the door, and found Crowley eagerly awaiting them in the small front room of the farmhouse. "There you are! She's back in that room," Crowley said, pointing at a door down the hall. It was actually an unnecessary action, as Michelle could hear an occasional scream coming from that direction. She rushed into the room, and set to examining her new patient.

"This is going to be difficult," she said to herself. But to the woman breathing hard in labor she said, "Don't worry, this will be over soon." Then she turned to the door and yelled, "Crowley, Halt, I need you!" The two apprentices appeared almost immediately. Crowley took one look at the scene unfolding in the small bedroom and turned pale. He staggered back against the wall, and slid down it into a sitting position. "Crowley, I need you to-"

"Crowley's kind of useless right now," Halt interrupted as he peered worriedly at his friend.

Michelle sighed in frustration, "Alright. Halt, I need you to go get me a knife, a blanket, some rags, and hot water."

"Rags, blanket, knife, water, got it." Halt rushed from the room and into the small kitchen of the farmhouse. He gathered up all of the necessary items, with the exception of the hot water, that would have to heat up, and ran back into the small bedroom. "Here," he said, shoving the bundle towards the Healer.

"Good, thank you. Now get Crowley out of here, if you wouldn't mind. This baby's about to come." Halt agreed without hesitation, moving to lever Crowley up and out of the room. Almost as soon as the two apprentices reached the front room Halt heard a scream, followed by a baby's cry. He guided Crowley to a chair then sat and anxiously awaited further instructions from Michelle.

Roughly ten minutes later Halt heard a call from the little Healer, "You can come back now, the coast is clear." Halt headed back with a backward glance at a very pale looking Crowley. As he entered the bedroom he saw Michelle holding a small bundle in her arms. "And here's our new baby girl." Halt peered at the blanket wrapped form, studying the wrinkled little face. As he watched, the baby yawned, exposing her toothless mouth and tiny tongue. Halt smiled a little, as did Michelle. Then, she walked over to the bed where the new mother was lying. Placing the tiny child into her arms, Michelle said, "There we are. Do you have a name for this little one?" Halt turned from the scene and went to stand near the window. This seemed like a private moment to him, and he didn't want to intrude.

"Well no. We hadn't thought of one before Thomas had to leave," the woman said sadly. Now Halt felt a need to intrude. He looked over his shoulder at the mother and child. "Winter," he said simply, then turned back to the window.

"What?" the woman asked in confusion.

Halt turned fully around to face the woman. "Winter. You should name her Winter."

"Winter. Now there's an odd name."

Halt shrugged. "You could call her Winnie."

"Winnie. I like that. Where did you come up with it?"

Halt shrugged once again. "It's snowing." The women in the room turned to look out the window, and sure enough, there were fat white flakes drifting down from the sky.

"And so it is. I think that will be her name. Hi Winter," she added to the baby girl in her arms. The girl cooed in response. Michelle smiled, then she took Halt by the arm and led him towards the door.

"I think it's about time to leave our new mother alone. I'll come back to check on the two of you tomorrow." And with that last promise she led Halt from the room.

* * *

By the time Halt, Crowley, and Michelle reached the small cabin it was well past the time that Jared had been expecting them. The Ranger had stayed up waiting for his apprentices, and when he saw the Healer enter his home he turned on Halt for answers.

"What's Michelle doing here? Are you guys hurt?"

"No. Well, Crowley might be, but that's just emotionally." Jared looked at Crowley and true enough, he was staring off into space and looking somewhat pale. He turned to Michelle. "What happened?"

"Well Jared, your boys just helped deliver a baby."

"I'm so glad I'm not a girl," Crowley said.

"It was amazing. You hear a scream and suddenly there's this whole new person," Halt said as he hung his cloak on it's peg by the door.

"I'm so glad I'm not a girl."

"And Michelle was great, all calm, made sure everything was alright."

"I'm so glad I'm not a girl."

"And the mother's fine. The baby was early, and she was really small, but she'll be fine too."

"Well, I'm glad you had a good time. I take it you never made it to the dance?" Jared asked, smiling at the difference in his apprentices' reactions. Halt shook his head. "Then all of your wishes came true. Now then, it's late, take Crowley and go to bed." Halt grabbed Crowley by the sleeve and led him through the door to the room shared by the two boys.

Jared turned to Michelle. "Congratulations, you've successfully traumatized one of my apprentices."

"Oh, he'll be fine. It's just that the miracle of life is less miraculous and more disturbing to some people. Although Halt handled it extremely well, he's quite good in a crisis."

"Yeah, he's pretty level headed."

"He'll make a good Ranger."

"I think so."

"Well, good night. See you later."

"Night."

* * *

_Yeah. Sorry for the general crappiness of this chapter. But I had such bad writers block on this one. I almost finished two of the next chapters while trying to think of ideas for this one. Oh, and if you're wondering why I didn't make this about the dance, it's because I realized after I wrote the last chapter that I hated the idea of the dance. Anyway, reviews are always much appreciated. Peace. :P_


	9. I Told You So

Chapter Nine:

**I Told You So**

by Keith Urban

* * *

_ Before you read this let me mention that the Rangers are a lot more open/ less secretive in this story. There's a reason for that. I have a story line later on for why it changes. Also, the Gathering Grounds are in a different spot. Again, there's a reason for that. Anyway, enjoy the chapter. :P_

* * *

"Not bad. Six months and you're almost as fast as Crowley." Halt allowed that little not quite a smile to cross his face. Ever since the very eventful night of the dance, a little more than three months ago, Halt hadn't had a day off. From dawn till dusk he practiced with his bow and his knives. He practiced tracking and unseen movement. He worked with Aller, his little horse. All under the strict supervision of Jared.

For all his easy going manner the Ranger accepted nothing less than perfection from his apprentices. After all, as he liked to point out, the skills they were learning now would probably save their lives one day. Of course, knowing that all the practice was for a purpose didn't make Halt any less tired at night. Or any happier to get up in the morning. But he had seen a definite improvement in his archery skills.

The two walked now towards the targets at which Halt had been shooting. All of the arrows had hit the targets, most either on the bullseye or so close that it didn't matter. It was shooting of an exceptionally high standard. But not quite high enough for Jared. "Better." Halt smiled just a little bit, "But not perfect." The smile left Halt's face. Jared noticed the look. "Oh, don't look so glum. It's still very good, just not perfect. Regular archers practice until they get it right. You're going to practice until you never get it wrong," Jared paused for a moment and seemed to ponder his own words, "You know, that's quite good. I may have to make a saying of it." The Ranger walked away, musing to himself, leaving Halt to gather his arrows and shoot again.

And so the weeks passed. Days became a blur of constant work and Halt fell asleep at night completely exhausted. And before he knew it, another month had gone by. The snow was now gone save for in a few shady patches beneath the trees, and spring was well on its way. But even though the seasons were changing Halt's routine stayed much the same. Until one day, when something different happened.

Halt woke up early, as was his habit. He'd perfected the skill of getting up before the sun back at Dun Kilty, mostly as a device to avoid his family. But the habit had never left him, luckily, as Halt had witnessed some of the more 'creative' ways Jared had of waking up Crowley. But no matter how early he rose, when he entered the kitchen, he invariably found Jared either cooking or eating breakfast. Halt had several theories concerning this. Either Jared just liked to be up to keep an eye on Halt, he was naturally a freakishly early riser, or he was some kind of vampire, and therefore didn't need to sleep.

The third option seemed the least likely, as Jared always bore signs of having slept. Now, for example, Jared's light brown hair was sticking up in more places and directions than Halt could count. Over the course of the day it would flatten into a fairly orderly and respectable look, but for now Jared appeared - Halt thought - rather a lot like someone who had just been struck by lightening.

"You need a haircut," Halt said as he hopped up onto the kitchen counter. Jared turned from his place at the small stove to look at Halt.

"So do you," he said, staring at the shaggy black hair on Halt's head. "And get your _butt_ off of my counter." Halt shrugged and complied. Now he walked over to be behind Jared, balancing carefully on his toes in order to see over the Ranger. The top of Halt's head came up roughly to the level of Jared's collarbone, so standing on tip toe put Halt's eyes just above the level of Jared's shoulder, allowing him to see the stove.

"What are you making?"

"Eggs."

"I like eggs."

Jared glanced sidelong at the eyes peering over his right shoulder. "And I suppose by that you mean that you want me to make you some too."

"Yes, please."

"Well at least you're polite. Here." Jared turned and shoved a plate into Halt's hands, which the apprentice accepted readily. He sat down at the table and set to eating with a vengeance. Jared sat down across from him and scoffed. "You young people, always eating like it's the last meal you'll ever see."

"It could be," Halt said between mouthfuls, "A giant fireball could come down from the sky and kill me right now. I want to make sure I die on a full stomach."

"You've been hanging around Crowley too much."

"You think?" Halt asked, looking slightly concerned.

"I know."

"Hm... I'll keep that in mind. So what am I doing today? Shooting arrows? Throwing knives?" Jared shook his head.

"Nope, no practice today."

"Why?" Halt asked, instantly on his guard for some kind of trick.

"Because we're leaving," Jared said simply, paying no mind to Halt's tone.

"Where are we going?" Halt was genuinely curious now.

"The Gathering."

"What's that?"

"It's a gathering. I thought that was fairly self-explanatory."

Halt resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "A gathering of _what_?"

"Rangers."

"And what do the Rangers do at this gathering?"

"Well, _I'm_ going to go around talking to all of the other senior Rangers. You and Crowley are going to get evaluated." Jared took a sip of coffee.

"Evaluated? What's that mean?"

"What that means is that a bunch of older Rangers are going to be giving you tests and judging your progress."

"What? So it's a bunch of exams?"

"Yes. But there's also games. And coffee. And food. And music. And coffee."

"You said coffee twice."

"Did I? Well, there's also going to be coffee."

Halt stared at him for a moment. "You have a problem."

"What problem?"

"You're addicted to coffee."

"Addiction is such a harsh word. I prefer to call it a deep appreciation," Jared said. Halt stared at him for a long moment in silence. Finally, Jared squirmed. "Stop looking at me like that. Go wake Crowley up."

Halt nodded and stood, dropping his now empty plate into the sink as he went. "Crowley, time to wake up," Halt said as he entered the bedroom the two boys shared. It was a tight fit to get two beds into that tiny room, but they had managed it. Crowley's bed was shoved up against one wall, and Halt's against another, under the window. The foot of Halt's bed was in the corner formed by the two walls and the foot of Crowley's bed touched it, creating a sort of 'L' shape. Right now Crowley was curled up at the head of his bed, in a position that looked extremely uncomfortable to Halt. He shook Crowley's shoulder.

Crowley responded by snuggling deeper into his blankets and mumbling something that sounded suspiciously like 'stab'. Halt shook him harder and said, "Crowley, get up." Crowley threw another unintelligible threat Halt's way, but otherwise ignored him. "Jared! He won't get up!" Halt called. Jared's face appeared in the doorway almost immediately.

"Nonsense. You're just too nice to him." Jared strolled over to the bed and ripped the blankets out of Crowley's grasp, causing the boy to squeak in protest. "Crowley get up. We're leaving." Crowley mumbled something. "I don't care if it's too early, we have to go." More unintelligible words. "The Gathering." A few more grumblings. "Yes, it is that time of year already." Crowley mumbled something again, this time in a somewhat nicer tone, Halt thought. "Yes, you can have breakfast before we leave." Crowley shoved himself into a semi-upright position, then lurched up from the bed and shuffled into the kitchen.

Jared turned to Halt. "I would suggest packing."

"Alright." Halt shoved a few sets of extra clothes into a bag, which amounted to packing as far as he was concerned, and went to gather up his bow, quiver, knives, and cloak. Then he went to wait for Jared and Crowley in the living room.

Once everything was packed and the three Rangers were ready to go they went out to the stables, saddled up their horses, Halt's little Aller, Jared's larger bay Bullseye, and Crowley's medium sized little gray, Flick. And then they rode out to the northeast.

* * *

"All of the apprentices get evaluated every year," Crowley said. He was explaining to Halt the usual events of the Gathering.

"So you'll be doing this too, then?"

"Yep. But we'll be in different groups. It goes by year. I'm second year, you're first year, so we'll be getting evaluated by different people."

Halt nodded. "Hey Jared, are you the only Ranger with two apprentices?" Jared squirmed a bit at the question.

"Well, technically, you're not officially my apprentice yet. I haven't actually cleared you with Ben, the Corps Commandant," Jared said sheepishly.

Halt gaped. "So all of that practice may have been for nothing?"

"No. I never said that. What I said was, you are not officially a Ranger's apprentice. Yet."

"Yet? So then this Ben person will have no problem with my being your apprentice?"

"Probably not. But when he sees you he's going to scold me, and then pretend he has to think about it. And then it'll take somewhere between four hours and two days for him to tell us yes."

"Wow. How do you know that?"

"This happens a lot," Crowley said.

"Why?" Halt asked.

"Eh, let's just say that it's due to my unorthodox methods," The Ranger said.

"Jared gets in a lot of trouble," Crowley added. Jared resisted the urge to smack him.

"Really?"

"I don't get in trouble. I've never actually broken any of the rules," Jared said with some dignity.

"Yeah, but he's created the need for new ones," Crowley said, rolling his eyes.

"Really?" Halt asked again.

"I may have drawn attention to a few blind spots, yes."

"A few?" Crowley said incredulously, "Pretty much _all_ of the rules we have now are because of him."

Jared glared at Crowley. "You know, you used to respect me."

Crowley put up both hands in a gesture of innocence. "Hey, who ever said that I don't respect you? I respect you. You've set a wonderful example for me. Because of you I'll know exactly what I'm _not_ supposed to do when I graduate. And I appreciate it."

"You know Crowley, one day, you're going to wake up, very confused, in _Gallica_," Jared said.

"Hmm..." Crowley looked up as though thinking, "I'll have to tell Ben to make a rule about that."

"Oh, you little-" Jared's threat was cut short as Crowley tapped his heels to Flick's sides and galloped away. Jared set off after him on Bullseye. Halt shrugged and followed on Aller.

* * *

After traveling for several days the three Rangers had reached Araluen fief, a bit to the northeast of the center of the country. The Gathering Grounds, Jared had explained, were a few miles away from Castle Araluen, where King Stephen lived.

At a well worn but narrow path Jared turned his horse. The two apprentices followed suit. The trio proceeded at a slow pace until excitement got the best of Crowley and he urged his horse on ahead. He was eager to meet up with old friends, whom he hadn't seen in a year. And so Halt and Jared were the only ones present when Halt saw the Gathering Grounds for the first time. They were in a large meadow, dotted with small green tents and cooking fires, with a larger central tent erected roughly in the center. Halt was singularly unimpressed.

"That's it? We're just out here in the open?"

"Yeah."

"After everything you've taught me, about secrecy, and sneaking, all of that, we're just right here? No concealment whatsoever?"

"No. It's not like this is a big secret or anything. And we do have sentries."

"It just seems so anti-climactic somehow."

"Well you have to follow a path. We are technically in the woods you know."

"You could see us from the road if you wanted to."

Jared looked a little bit hurt at Halt's comments. "Well it's a good meeting place."

"Yes, perfect for secret meetings. Right here in the open," Halt said sarcastically.

"Well if I'd known you were going to be such a _prince_ about this maybe I wouldn't have taken you."

That comment hurt Halt, and Jared knew it. It was a cheap shot, as Jared had noticed the pains that Halt took to live a life completely different from the one he'd had in Dun Kilty. In addition, Halt hated any mention of his old life. As his little apprentice quieted and looked down at Aller's neck Jared mentally kicked himself. "I'm sorry." Halt looked up sadly at his master. Jared cursed the kid's liquid brown eyes, which seemed to magnify every hurt, and elaborated on his apology. "That was pretty low. I'm just worried about Ben. If it'll make you feel better, I'll cook dinner tonight."

Halt's countenance seemed to brighten somewhat and gradually, as they rode, he began talking more. He continued, however, to give the appearance of someone who hadn't quite forgiven Jared. On the inside, though, he congratulated himself on a job well done. Halt didn't like cooking dinner.

* * *

Jared had put off the inevitable for as long as he could. But it was the business of the Ranger Commandant to gather information, and so Ben had learned within hours that Jared had brought a Hibernian boy along with him to the Gathering. And he had been training the boy as his apprentice, and for over seven months, no less. This fit in with Jared's usual behavior, but that fact didn't serve to make Ben any less furious. And so Halt and Jared were suitably uncomfortable as Ben led them to a semi-secluded part of the large meadow and proceed to vent.

"I don't know what you were thinking! You take this kid in, not knowing anything about him, he's not even _from Araluen_. But you decide, without asking me or even once _mentioning_ him to make him your apprentice! Never mind the fact that you _already have one_!" Throughout this display Jared stayed silent and solemn, staring down at the ground. At a few points he nodded, but he never looked up. He seemed the very picture of remorse. But he ruined the effect when he turned his head slightly to wink at Halt. Halt rose his eyebrows at Jared before turning back to Ben.

The Ranger Commandant sighed and massaged the bridge of his nose. "I just don't understand what you were thinking, Jared. You take in this child-"

"Teenager," Jared corrected. He seemed to have decided it was time to defend himself.

"You don't know where his parents are-"

"Dead."

"You know nothing about his past-"

"I know plenty."

"You don't take your apprentice into consideration-"

"Crowley loves him."

"You never told me anything about him-"

"I was planning to."

"The point is, there are rules. I try to keep this group running smoothly, which is _not_ easy, and those rules help me. But they only _work_ when everyone agrees to follow them. But then we've got _you _running around, flouting them whenever you feel like it! You just can't behave this way, Jared. I need you to understand that."

"Well, I would like to point out that there is no rule concerning taking on a second apprentice. Admittedly, I should have told you about him, and I'm sorry for that, but I haven't done anything wrong. And the boy has great potential. Watch."

Jared looked around until he spotted an early apple hanging from a tree. He turned to the Hibernian boy. "See that apple?" Halt nodded. "Shoot it down."

"Jared, I really don't see what you're trying to prove here..." Ben said. But Halt was already taking an arrow from his quiver. He knocked, aimed, drew, and shot, all in one smooth motion. The apple fell from its branch, suddenly disconnected from its stem, and landed on the grass. Halt's arrow landed a few feet farther on.

Ben stared for a moment. Halt saw the surprise on his face, but he covered it quickly. Ben turned to Jared, now glaring. "That could have just been luck."

Jared stared Ben straight in the eye. "What if it wasn't?"

Ben glared at Jared for a moment more before _hrmph_ing disdainfully and turning away. "I'll think about it," he called over his shoulder.

"That's all I wanted to hear," Jared said. He turned back to Halt as the Commandant walked away. "That was amazing kid. I just expected you to hit the apple, not the _stem_. Good job."

"Actually," Halt said ruefully, "Ben was right; that was just luck."

Jared's eyes widened. "Oh, Lord. I could have gone without knowing that, kid."

Halt shrugged. "Sorry."

"Oh, just go get your arrow. Then come over to the tents."

Jared walked away, shaking his head in disbelief. Halt watched him for a moment before snatching up his arrow and replacing it in the quiver at his back, then he sprinted to catch up with his yet-to-be-official master.

* * *

Jared, Halt, and Crowley were sitting around a campfire, sipping cups of coffee, when, exactly four hours later, Ben approached them. He looked down at the three of them as they looked up at him.

"Well Jared, I've made my decision. You may be foolhardy, but you were right when you said that the kid has potential. You can keep him on as your apprentice."

"Thank you Ben. That's all I wanted to hear. Would you like some coffee?"

"No. I have to go attend to some paper work. There's always more to do around Gathering time."

"Alright. But if you do want some, just stop back by."

"Will do."

As soon as Ben had passed out of earshot Jared turned to his apprentices, a look of superiority on his face. "See? I told you so," he said.

"Yeah, and after only four hours," Crowley said, "I thought it would take at least five."

"Just goes to show how charming, intelligent, and utterly convincing I can be."

The two boys kept straight faces for approximately three seconds before bursting into laughter.

* * *

_So yeah, there it is. I wrote almost this entire chapter while trying to write the last chapter. Now, you should be some of the best readers ever and review this chapter. I felt it was considerably less crappy than the last chapter. Peace. :P _


	10. Who's Crying Now

Chapter Ten:

**Who's Crying Now**

by Journey

* * *

_Didn't I tell you these next chapters would be quick? It also helps that today is my day off. This chapter is more Gathering stuff. Peace. :P_

* * *

"Well, we weren't actually expecting any first years, so we drew lots on who would be your assessors. I lost."

Halt stared at the Ranger, whose name was Damion, for a moment. _And on that encouraging note... _he thought.

"Right. Let's get on with it. See those targets over there?" Halt nodded. Three standard bullseye targets were set up seventy-five meters away. "I want you to shoot three arrows into each one." Halt nodded and stepped up to the firing line. He licked his lips nervously then selected an arrow from the quiver at his back. He fired the nine arrows quickly, but not with the almost lightening fast speed he'd been perfecting back at Jared's cabin. And the arrows all hit a target, but not with anywhere near the accuracy he usually had.

Halt was disappointed with his own performance, and the older Ranger apparently shared the feeling. "Well I see everything I've heard about you isn't true then. You certainly aren't up to the standards I've heard of." Halt lowered his eyes and looked dejectedly down at his shoes.

Jared, by chance, was strolling by just at that moment, and having seen his apprentice he veered off towards Halt. In doing so he caught the tail end of Damion's words. To say the least, they made Jared furious. His little apprentice was skittish around strangers at the best of times, and Damion's attitude certainly couldn't be helping things. Jared decided to take a hand. He stalked up behind the other Ranger, not making a sound. Then, standing behind and slightly to the side of the other man, he smiled and waved at Halt. His apprentice looked slightly surprised at Jared's appearance, and seemed about to say something, but Jared shook his head and the comment was cut off.

Jared looked over at Damion, who was still criticizing Halt's performance. He looked back at Halt and rolled his eyes. _What a jerk_, he seemed to be saying. The corners of Halt's mouth twitched. As the other man continued his rant Jared shook his head then put a finger up to his temple and made a corkscrew motion. _Don't listen to him, he's crazy_. Halt hid a smile and nodded.

Now Jared began to mime talking, puffing out his chest and putting one hand on his hip while wagging a finger towards Halt, a pretend scowl on his face. Halt bit his tongue to keep from laughing. Eventually Jared decided it was time for this to end. He mimed shooting a bow. _Shoot again_. Halt looked uncertainly between Jared and Damion. Jared made a shooing motion. _Go on_.

"Excuse me sir," Halt said suddenly, interrupting the other Ranger. "I hate to interrupt, but would you mind terribly if I shot again?"

"Why? There's really no point, I've already seen-"

"I think I can surprise you."

"Oh fine. If you must."

Halt once again stepped up to the firing line, feeling much more confident this time around. He shot the series of nine arrows once again, and this time each arrow slammed into the bullseye within a second of each other. Halt turned back to the older Ranger and smiled. "There. How's that?" Damion gaped, struggling to find words and failing miserably. Halt went to gather his arrows. As he returned Jared was walking past once more. He had walked away and was now strolling back, as though for the first time. He strode up to Halt, bypassing the still shocked Ranger completely.

"Ah, there you are kid. I've been looking for you." Jared dropped an arm around the youth's shoulders. "Having fun are we?" He led Halt away from the firing range, still not having acknowledged the other Ranger's presence. But as they walked away Jared looked back over his shoulder and shot Damion a look that could have killed. _I'll deal with you later_.

He turned back to Halt. "Well he's a jerk."

"You could say that again."

"Well he's a jerk."

Halt groaned. "That wasn't funny. And thanks for helping me out."

"My pleasure. I never pass up a chance to practice my miming skills. And I meant what I said. Don't worry about Damion. He's just jealous."

Halt rose his eyebrows. "Of my devilish good looks?"

Jared chuckled. "But of course. Now come on, there's some people I want you to meet." The Ranger led his apprentice over to a tidy little campsite with two green tents set up behind a small fire. Two Rangers could be seen by the fire, one younger and leaning against a stump, the other older and sitting on a log. They looked up as Jared approached.

"Arthur, Ethan, this is Halt, my new apprentice."

"Aw, Jared, have you killed Crowley already? I expected him to last at _least _three years," the younger man said disapprovingly.

The older man stood and stuck out his hand for Halt to shake. "Nice to meet you Halt. And don't listen to Ethan. Jared very rarely eats his apprentices."

Arthur was a tall man in his late thirties. His short hair was prematurely gray, earning him the nickname "Old Man" from a few of his friends. Halt smiled at him now, and Jared rolled his eyes.

"So now I don't just kill my apprentices, I eat them? Really?" Jared spread his hands in a gesture of disbelief. "Crowley's over by the stream," he added.

"Oh good. I like Crowley," Ethan said. Ethan was a younger man, in his early twenties perhaps, with dark hair and bright eyes. Now he, too, stood and shook Halt's hand.

"Nice to meet you," Halt said.

Ethan smiled. "Well of course it is, I'm me," he said.

"Ethan, don't make me smack you," Arthur warned.

Ethan grumbled something then smiled broadly at Halt. "It's nice to meet you too Halt."

"Well of course it is," Halt said, "I'm me."

Arthur and Ethan grinned. "I like this one," Arthur said. "I hope you're keeping him Jared."

"Well of course I am. He's him." The Rangers smiled. "I'll see you two later. Halt and I have places to go and people to see."

"Alright. Bye Jared. Bye Halt." The two Rangers waved enthusiastically as master and apprentice walked away. Halt looked up at Jared.

"I like them."

"Well good. Arthur's an old friend."

"What about Ethan?"

"Arthur's old apprentice. The two of them are practically inseparable. They're also almost interchangeable."

"Interchangeable?"

"Yes. They're basically the same person. Ask Ethan a question and his answer will be the same as Arthur's."

"Really?"

"Pretty much. There are only three subjects I've ever seen them disagree on. Horses, food, and snow." Halt gave him a puzzled look, so Jared elaborated. "Arthur insists that his horse is faster than Ethan's, but Ethan disagrees. They've never actually raced to settle the argument. Arthur thinks two or three meals a day is perfectly fine, while Ethan thinks that food should be eaten whenever the opportunity arises. Arthur despises snow, while Ethan loves it."

"Interesting."

"You think? Let's go find Crowley."

* * *

The next day Halt was waiting in a corner of the large meadow for his assessor. He was hoping against hope that Jared had found a way to replace Damion. Just as he had the the thought he saw Arthur and Ethan walking towards him. "Hullo Halt. I get to assess you today," Arthur said as they neared. Halt nodded, then looked at Ethan, who shrugged.

"I'm just along for the ride."

"Alright. So what are doing?"

"Well, I do believe I'm supposed to asses you in your unseen movement skill. So I'll give you... five minutes, head into the trees over there, and I'll follow. You try and catch me before I catch you." Halt nodded his understanding. This was just the sort of game that Halt had played with Jared back at the cabin. "Off you go."

Halt moved off into the trees, at first making no move to conceal himself. But as he got deeper into the woods and the trees drew closer together he began to take pains to leave no trace of his presence. He was very aware that Arthur had an advantage in this game, the older Ranger knew which direction Halt had taken, while Halt had no way of knowing where Arthur was. He needed to even up the playing field.

Halt looked up briefly, and that was when the answer struck him. He moved toward a large oak tree and scrambled up the trunk. The trees in this part of the forest were large and strong, their limbs were straight and long, intersecting the branches of other trees. And so Halt climbed up a fair distance then carefully walked across a wide limb to the branch of another tree. In this way he managed to make his way back across the path he had taken, and as he had suspected, he saw Arthur and Ethan close on his trail.

He watched as the two of them stopped in front of the original tree he had climbed. Arthur looked back at Ethan in confusion. The boy's tracks seemed to have disappeared. When they had first gone after Halt his tracks had been easy to spot, and had gradually gotten more difficult to see. But now they appeared to have disappeared completely. The two Rangers cast around in a circle from the tree, looking for further signs of Halt's progress. They found nothing.

Now Ethan pointed off in the direction that Halt had been heading before. Arthur nodded and the two Ranger's set off in that direction. Halt watched all of this silently from his perch in the tree. Jared had said that people rarely look up. Apparently his master had been right. Halt waited for Arthur and Ethan to get well out of earshot then dropped down from the tree. Moving as silently as he could, Halt stalked after the two Rangers.

Roughly twenty minutes later, Arthur was getting worried. "I can't find any sign of him."

"Well what do we do?" Ethan asked.

"I don't know. This has never happened before." Halt had stayed well back from the two Rangers up to this point, but now that they were distracted with talking he began moving closer.

"Maybe he went back to the camp."

"But what if he didn't? I'm responsible for him."

"Well do we keep looking?"

"Oh no. Just leave him in the woods to starve." The two Rangers whirled to see Halt casually leaning against a tree. Arthur heaved a silent sigh of relief then looked at Ethan.

"Well I guess we've been taught a lesson today," he said.

"We? Don't you mean _you've _been taught a lesson?"

"Me? You were here too."

"Well it's not like it was my job to keep track of him."

"I hate you Ethan."

"No you don't."

"You know what? You're right. I don't hate you. I despise you."

Halt decided to interrupt. It seemed that these two could talk all day if you let them. "So do I pass?"

"What? Oh, yes. Definitely. With flying colors."

"Maybe even with leaping colors," Ethan added.

"Leaping colors? Really Ethan? How is leaping better than flying?"

"Well have you ever seen a bird leap?"

"They don't need to. They can fly."

"Well maybe you've just never noticed the need. I bet fewer birds would get eaten if only they could leap."

Arthur looked at Halt and shook his head sadly. "As you can see, Ethan isn't quite sane."

"No, Arthur's the one that's insane."

Halt looked back and forth between the two of them. "Well I think you're both crazy. Can we go get something to eat?" This comment had the desired affect of getting both Ranger's to smile, and to forget about their argument.

"Certainly my boy. And we two crazies shall escort you," Arthur said gallantly.

* * *

By the end of the week Halt was completely exhausted. For him the past six days had been a constant barrage of tests, music, laughter, food, and coffee. There had been a lot of coffee. Apparently Jared and Crowley weren't the only ones addicted to the stuff. It seemed that all of the Rangers shared the same near dependence on the rich black drink.

And now, even more of it was being passed around as Halt headed off with Jared and Crowley to the feast. It was a celebration to congratulate all of the graduating apprentices, get new assignments for the year and generally have a good time. A large table had been set up especially for this purpose, extremely long, it was able to seat all fifty of the Rangers and their various apprentices. Ben, the Ranger Commandant, was seated at the head of the table. Jared led his two apprentices to a spot about halfway down, where three empty chairs sat across from Arthur and Ethan. The two Rangers greeted the newcomers cheerfully.

"Jared! I was wondering when you'd show up," Arthur said.

"Crowley! You really are alive! That's wonderful." Ethan hadn't seen Crowley for the entire week of the Gathering, which was unusual.

"Hi Ethan. Glad you're alive too. I thought Arthur would have killed you by now," Crowley said with a grin.

"Oh, I've thought about it. Trust me."

"Look, coffee," Jared said eagerly. Several pots of coffee were being passed down the table, for the Rangers to help themselves. Arthur was the first to come withing grabbing range of one of the pots. He gathered up everyone's as of yet empty mugs and poured the bubbling black liquid into each one.

Halt accepted his mug then reached across the table for a nearby honey pot. Arthur and Ethan watched with mouths gaping as Halt spooned honey into his coffee. They turned to each other, then back to Halt, finally looking accusingly at Jared.

The Ranger shrugged. "He's just weird that way."

"Foreigners," they said, shaking their heads in condemnation. But the jibe was good natured, the two older Rangers had rather taken a liking to Halt. They'd recognized that spark of intelligence and humour in his eyes. He was shy maybe, but that was something that could be cured. And because they liked him Arthur and Ethan were willing to forgive Halt this serious transgression.

As the evening wore on the Rangers grew more and more boisterous, singing songs, eating, and generally having a good time. It was a wonderful party, full of good food and better friends, and most importantly, wonderful coffee. But finally Ben stood from his place at the head of the table and called everyone to attention.

"Right, last order of business. Assignments and reassignments for the next year." The Rangers all watched Ben in anticipation. "As some of you may know, George has decided to retire. That leaves an open space in Meric. And that spot goes to Arthur." There were scattered calls of congratulations as the Ranger stood to receive his new orders. "Congratulations Arthur," Ben said as the Ranger reclaimed his seat next to Ethan. "And of course, we'll need to replace Arthur in Berrond. So good luck to you, Damion, because you've got the job." This time the congratulations were half-hearted and few in numbers. Jared sighed and leaned back in his chair.

"Ah, Berrond," he said, seemingly to himself. "Godforsaken little place. Right on the northern border, constantly under attack from the Scotti. Snows stays almost year-round, and it's so cold that deer have been known to freeze on occasion."

Halt eyed his master. "I suppose you had something to do with this."

Jared smiled slyly. "I might have."

"Might have? Certainly had, I would think."

"Let's leave it at certainly might have."

* * *

_ Let's see... I made up Berrond, because I didn't want to use Norgate. What else... Oh yeah, sorry if the assessments are kind of fast and... unrealistic, maybe? It's because I didn't really know how to write them, so... If anyone has some tips for that, I would be grateful. Also, the deer freezing thing? Totally true. It's happened where I live. So don't be a weird frozen deer popsicle, review!_


	11. Killer Queen

**Killer Queen**

by

Queen

* * *

_This chapter takes place the day after the Gathering has ended. I don't think I ever mentioned that in the chapter. That's about all I have to say for now. Enjoy! _

* * *

Soaring towers and graceful stonework gave the castle a feeling of openness and beauty. A massive figure in the surrounding landscape, the castle, built of honey colored hardstone, was nearly impregnable as well. The many high towers, while lending to the castle's aesthetics, also provided countless openings through which the castle's inhabitants could pour arrows, rocks, and boiling oil on an attacking force. This was Castle Araluen, seat of King Stephen's rule.

It was through the courtyard of this castle that three Rangers found themselves walking. Halt found himself suitably impressed by the soaring towers and buttresses. He couldn't help gazing up at the massive stone structure and the flags waving high above him. Jared elbowed him in the ribs. "Don't stare like that."

"Why?"

"Because it marks you out as a foreigner."

"But I am a foreigner."

"No, you're a Ranger. And as a Ranger part of your job is to pay attention to your surroundings. Keep a wide focus, keep your eyes moving, never stare at one spot for too long. You just need a general idea of what's going on around you. That way nothing ever comes as a surprise."

"It's not that hard," Crowley added. "You just have to get used to it."

"Alright." Halt stopped looking at the fairly impressive sight of the castle and set to observing the crowd passing around him. It was a fairly mixed set of people. There were nobles, knights and their ladies, guards, peasants, children, and a smattering of horses and other animals. And up ahead, there was a man in a camouflage cloak striding towards them.

"Hullo Jared," Ben said as he approached. "Crowley, Halt. Glad you've come."

Jared rose his eyebrows at that. "Did you really think I would disobey a direct order from the King?"

Ben shrugged. "Given your track record it wouldn't surprise me."

"That hurts Ben," Jared said, putting a hand to his chest.

"Oh yes, I'm sure it does," Ben said sarcastically. "Come and find me after you've met with the King. I've got something for you."

"Alright."

Ben nodded, and with no more goodbye than that, disappeared into the crowd once more.

"You're meeting with the King? Is that why we're here?" Crowley asked.

"Yes."

"Do we get to come?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"Mostly because I want to make a good impression."

"Are you saying we make a bad impression?" Crowley said.

"Actually, yes. That's exactly what I'm saying. Also, you weren't invited."

"Well that's no fun at all."

"Consider yourselves lucky. You don't have to sit through what I'm sure will be a boring meeting."

"Are you just trying to make me feel better?" Crowley asked.

"Kind of, yes. Is it working?"

"A little bit."

"Well good." They had now reached a set of massive doors that led into the castle. As they stepped inside the huge room Jared stopped his two apprentices. "I have to go to the meeting now. You two go do... apprentice things," he finished awkwardly.

"I still don't see why we can't go with you," Crowley said. Throughout this conversation, in fact from the moment the Rangers had entered the massive castle, Halt had been sniffing at something. Now he spoke up.

"Crowley, I smell pie."

"Really? Bye Jared!" Crowley called as he followed his nose to the smell that Halt had made him aware of. Halt turned to Jared.

"You're welcome," he said.

Jared rolled his eyes. "Thank you. I'll see you later. Keep track of Crowley for me."

"Yes sir." Halt set off after the rapidly retreating figure of Crowley. Jared smiled a bit to himself. Then he headed off to his meeting with the King and Queen.

The throne room, just like everything else in Castle Araluen, was built on a vast scale. Huge fluted columns rose high above the marble tiled floor to the ceiling. Large stained glass windows threw red, yellow, and blue light on either side of the room. In the center sat two thrones, the larger of the two ornately carved from oak and surmounted by a carved oakleaf. The other seat was smaller and somewhat less ornate.

Both thrones faced wooden double doors on the southern side of the room. It was through these doors that Jared was admitted into the throne room, silently, he made quick work of the vast empty space before him until he was standing in front of the two thrones. In the larger, more ornate throne sat King Stephen, in the smaller one, Queen Freda. Jared bowed.

Stephen waved his hand at the Ranger. "No need for that Jared. Do you know why I've called you here?"

"No, your majesty," Jared admitted.

"I have a mission for you in Gallica..."

* * *

"My Lord, are you certain this man is enough? Gallica is a very important ally," the Queen said in a disapproving tone. Queen Freda had a face like a robber's dog and a temperment to match. She tended to disapprove of anything and everything. No one quite knew how Stephen put up with her, but he seemed to do so easily and with, if not love, then a great amount of kindness and patience.

"Yes of course my dear. It is just to renew the treaty. And the Gallicans have always been such good friends of ours, Freddie. I'm sure Jared won't have any trouble." He turned to the Ranger. "Will you Jared?"

"Of course not your majesty."

"There, you see Freddie?" The King asked, using his nickname for the Queen. "I'm confident Jared can handle this."

"If you're sure your majesty." Stephen smiled briefly at the Queen then turned back to the Ranger.

"There is one other thing you need to know Jared."

"Yes, your majesty?"

"There is a young woman, a diplomat, whom I wish to accompany you. Her name is Emily. She needs to gain experience in the field and this is just the sort of situation that could be helpful. Can you escort her?"

"Yes of course," Jared answered quickly.

"You're certain Jared? I understand you have two apprentices to look after." The King's tone indicated that he was amused by, if not entirely approving of, Jared's unprecedented behavior.

"Your majesty, I assure you, my apprentices are... quite well behaved."

* * *

Halt sighed in pleasure as the sweet pie entered his mouth. "Aw Crowley, I knew there was a thief in you somewhere."

"It's not my fault. These pies were calling to me. They wanted to be eaten."

"And we were just the ones to do it."

"Definitely."

"You know Crowley, sometimes you impress me."

"Thank you. It was a close call. I think he almost saw me. He certainly smelled the pies, I could see his nose twitching." Halt chuckled a little at that. Then, with Crowley's usual rapid change of subjects, "I wonder if Jared is done with his meeting yet."

"I don't know. We could go find out."

"Alright." The two boys set off down the halls of Castle Araluen in search of their mentor.

* * *

"Thank you Jared. I appreciate this."

"Think nothing of it, your majesty."

"Well I suppose we shouldn't detain you any longer. You'll leave in three days. Good day Jared."

"Good day your majesty." Jared bowed once again then exited just as silently as he had come in. Now he needed to go see Ben. And figure out how he was going to handle watching over three young people in a foreign country. Of course he'd told the King that he could do it. But he'd said that because Stephen was the King. If Ben had asked him, he might have refused. Or at least asked for some help. Oh, this was giving him a headache.

Jared shook himself then set off to Ben's quarters on the Western edge of the castle.

* * *

As Halt and Crowley walked along Halt almost collided with a small boy running down one of Castle Araluen's many halls. Without pausing the blonde headed boy continued running down the long hallway. Halt and Crowley watched him go in slight surprise.

"Who was that?" Halt asked.

"I believe that was Prince Duncan." Halt looked down the hall once more, where the boy turned a corner and disappeared from sight. But before he had gone Halt noticed that the clothes he wore were of a high quality, befitting a royal child. His hair was honey blonde. And his face, though Halt's hadn't seen it, was fair. At the age of eleven the Prince was losing the rounded features of a child and beginning to show that he would be a rather handsome man. Luckily, Duncan resembled his father in looks. He looked almost nothing like his mother.

"Hm." Halt grunted and gave no further thought to the little boy.

* * *

"Thanks Ben," Jared called as he closed the door to the Ranger Commandant's office. Jared looked down at the silver chain coiled in his hand. Carefully, he put it into a pocket. Now all he had to do was find his two apprentices. How hard could that be?

* * *

As Halt and Crowley continued their search of the castle hallways they met with a most unexpected sight. Turning a corner, they came upon Queen Freda. Her back was to them, and she took no notice as they made their way fairly much silently up the hall. Suddenly the Queen stopped. Unconsciously, the two Rangers did likewise. Then the Queen squealed in a most un-royal fashion and began stomping like a mad woman at the floor. Halt and Crowley watched in shock.

"It's a mouse," Crowley whispered, watching the performance wide eyed. Halt silently nodded his agreement. They watched in morbid fascination as the Queen attempted to kill the mouse. They heard some rather terrified squeaking coming from the mouse, and quite a few angry shouts and curses from the Queen.

"Die you horrid creature!" Freda's shoe finally slammed over the mouse, ending it's short life. The two apprentices exchanged a horrified glance, then did what any sane person would have done in their place. They backed away slowly and then ran the heck away from the Queen. When they had reached a safe distance from Queen Freda the two apprentices slowed to a walk. They were both beginning to seriously regret eating the stolen pies.

As the pair walked slowly through the halls of Castle Araluen trying to get over their shock and disgust, Jared found them. "There you are." He took in the sickened look on their faces. "What happened to you?"

"We just... the Queen... very bad," Crowley said. Jared raised his eyebrows.

"Okay then." He turned to Halt, "Hey kid, I've got something for you." Jared pressed something into Halt's hand. When the Hibernian boy looked down he saw a stylized oakleaf cast in bronze attached to a silver chain. He looked up at Jared in confusion. "It's our symbol," Jared explained. "All Rangers wear one, master or apprentice." He dug inside the collar of his shirt and produced an identical oakleaf, but this one was made of silver. "See? Bronze is the apprentice color. When you graduate you'll get a silver one."

"Oh. Thank you." Halt dropped the chain around his neck. For the first time he realized that he really was a part of this group. He really belonged somewhere, there were people that wanted him around. He had a home. And somehow this small oakleaf symbolized all of it. Halt was shaken out of his reverie as Jared dropped an arm around each of his apprentice's shoulders.

"That was the good news. Now here's the..." Jared paused, seemingly unable to find the word he was looking for, "I don't know, neutral news. We're going to Gallica."

Crowley was instantly excited. "Really? What for? When?"

"Yes. To renew a treaty. In three days," Jared said. He was very used to answering Crowley's rapid fire series of questions.

"Gallica?" Halt asked.

Jared nodded. Crowley looked eagerly at Halt. "Have you been there before Halt?" he asked.

"Yes."

"What's it like?"

"It's..." Halt paused, trying to think of a way to describe the country, "It's... bright, and loud and colorful, and dirty. It's absolutely full of people, and there's always something going on."

Jared nodded. It was a pretty fair description of the little country. "It sounds great," Crowley said.

"Well, we'll see about that," Jared said. "There will also be a courier coming with us. I haven't met her yet, but her name is Emily."

"Is she pretty?" Crowley asked. Halt and Jared just stared at him. "What?"

* * *

_ And there you have it. So, can anyone figure out what Queen Freda is a reference to? There are a couple pretty big hints up there. But I don't know if anyone will get it. It's kind of random. Consider yourselves challenged. _


	12. Bad Angel

Chapter Twelve:

**Bad Angel**

by

Dierks Bentley

* * *

_ Okay, I'm sorry this took so long to update this time, but the universe seemed to be conspiring against this story these past... oh... couple weeks, is it? Anyway, here's the next chapter, which I was having a ridiculously hard time with. And this chapter has to be dedicated to Arlothia who reminded me that I needed to update. So thank you for that. And without further ado... I give you the next chapter!_

* * *

"Oh, gods, would you two please just _be quiet_?"

The bickering stopped. And for a few minutes there was blessed, blessed, silence. But it wouldn't last long, it couldn't last long, it _didn't_ last long.

"Halt, you need a haircut," Emily said.

"My hair is fine," Halt said.

"Oh, yes, fine for a sheepdog, maybe. Why, it'll be right over your eyes soon. Then how are you going to shoot that fancy bow of yours?"

"Oh, I'll just need a suitable target," Halt said meaningfully.

"You see? I don't appreciate that tone. You're implying that you're going to shoot me. And-"

"I wish someone would shoot both of you!" Jared interrupted. "Now just _stop talking_ before I gag you both!"

The young courier and Ranger lapsed back into an angry silence. Jared sighed in relief. Then he glanced over his shoulder at Halt and Emily, who were still riding next to each other. "Halt, get up here." Halt nudged Aller forward until he was riding level with Jared and Bullseye, avoiding eye contact with his very annoyed and angry mentor. He knew he had been acting like a child, but he couldn't seem to help it.

Jared had been riding ahead of their main party, mainly scanning the surrounding trees and ground for any sign of a threat. Emily, the courier, was now riding in the middle of the group, with Crowley and his horse, Flick, slightly behind and to one side. Following Crowley were two armed knights in half armour.

And now, for the first time that day, Jared found himself enjoying a silence that lasted for more than two minutes. Gradually, he relaxed and found himself thinking of the events that had brought them here, to this lonely stretch of wooded Gallican road. (**A/N:** Imagine swirly flashback effect here.)

* * *

Jared looked down at the courtyard in dismay. Sighing, his chin dropped into his hand as he leaned on the windowsill of his high tower room in Castle Araluen. He didn't hear the door swing open on well oiled hinges. He didn't hear the footsteps of the intruder as he approached. But somehow, he sensed the new arrival.

"Hi Ben."

The Ranger Commandant made a frustrated sound. "Jared, you're the only person who can hear me coming."

Jared didn't look back from the window. "I can't hear you," he said flatly.

"Then how did you know I was here?"

Jared waved a hand distractedly. "You're the only person I can't hear sneaking up on me."

Ben decided to let that comment slide for the moment. Instead of asking for an explanation he leant forward next to Jared on the windowsill. "What's wrong?"

Jared raised an eyebrow at his superior. "Wrong? Nothing's wrong."

Ben gave a snort of disbelief. "Oh please, Jared. I've known you for too long. You can't sit here sighing out the window without me knowing something's up." Jared opened his mouth to protest but Ben put up a hand and Jared snapped his mouth shut again. "Now. Is it about this Gallica trip?" Jared nodded grudgingly. "Okay, so what's wrong?"

"Nothing, Ben, it's really nothing. Just...," Jared hesitated, then sighed,"Do you realize that Stephen's got me playing babysitter for the next month?"

"Babysitter?" Ben asked.

"Yes. I assume you've met Emily?"

"The diplomat?" Jared nodded. "Yes, I've met her."

"She's about twenty-one. And you know she warrants two guards as a diplomat on an official mission?" Ben nodded. "And do you know who they gave me? A nineteen and a twenty year old. That, of course, being in addition to Halt and Crowley." Ben blinked a bit in surprise. "Do you know what that is, Ben? It's five," Jared held up an open hand for emphasis, "Count them, _five_ children. That's what's wrong." Then he sighed once more and dropped back onto the windowsill, resting his head in his hands.

"They gave you _five_ kids?"

Jared shook his head. "Technically they gave me three. I brought the other two."

"And you didn't argue about this?"

"No."

"That's awfully out of character."

"Yeah. But I'd already agreed to this before they sprang the other two on me."

"Hm. I'll work on it."

"We leave today, you realize."

"I'll work fast."

"Right." Ben made a swift exit from the room and Jared dropped his gaze through the window and down to the courtyard. He noticed a certain small Ranger's apprentice strolling across the open space and watched with interest at the scene unfolding below.

* * *

"Haltie!" The voice rang out from across the courtyard. Halt cringed. He decided to ignore it. He would just keep walking, and he wouldn't look back. Yes, he would just ignore it, and she would go away. She had to, he didn't have a backup plan. But when he felt the hand on his shoulder, Halt knew that all hope was lost.

He clenched his fists and his teeth, and took a deep breath before turning to see the courier Emily standing there. Just like he'd thought.

Lady Emily Weston, daughter of Micheal and Sophia Weston, much to Crowley's delight, was pretty. She was of slightly more than average height, making her taller than Halt but shorter than Jared. She had long black hair and bright blue eyes. She was all of twenty-one years old, and she carried herself with a grace and style that turned men's heads. Her voice was high and clear, almost musical. Most people would describe this young woman as an angel. To Halt, she was more like a close relation of the devil.

"Haltie," she said again, "Didn't you hear me?"

"No. I'm afraid I didn't," he said, turning his best glare on her. She laughed at the dark look. "Oh, come on Haltie. Perk up a little why don't ya?" she said, ruffling his hair.

There were a few things Halt wanted to say just then, but he bit his tongue and said instead, "My name is Halt. It's one syllable. I wouldn't think it would be that difficult for you."

He had met the young diplomat the better part of two days ago, and since then Halt had come to the conclusion that it had become her personal mission in life to drive him mad. Absolutely, stark, raving, mad. The discouraging aspect of it all was that she wasn't far from succeeding. So he didn't wait for a response to his insult, but instead turned sharply on his heel and marched off.

Eventually, after entering a few doors and doing a lot of twisting and turning down the corridors of the castle, he came to a small wooden door, identical to all of the other small wooden doors lining this hallway, and entered. "Crowley?" he called. Crowley's smiling face popped up from behind one of the beds in the small guest living quarters. Halt and Crowley were expected to share this one small room while Jared had received a small suite of two rooms higher up in the tower.

"What?" Crowley said.

"Well, first, what are you doing?"

"I _was_ lying down."

"On the floor?"

"It's cooler than the bed."

Halt mentally shrugged at that. This was the kind of logic that made sense to Crowley. He moved on to his next question. "Alright. Just how willing would you be to kill someone for me?"

"Depends. Who are they and what did they do?"

"Emily. And she annoys me."

"Halt, you realize that killing a courier is a serious offense? And that annoying someone isn't considered a good reason for murder?"

"I think it is."

"That's because you're a Hibernian. Here in Araluen we're a bit more civilized than that."

Halt harrumphed and moved to sit on his small bed. He could have made a crack about Araluens, but some Hibernian princes thought jealousy was a good reason for murder, so he let it drop.

"It's really nothing, Crowley," he said as he pulled his knee high leather boots from his feet. "Just one misplaced arrow, and it's done."

"I'm not going to kill someone for you Halt. Besides, I like Emily."

Halt rose his eyebrows at that. "Like her? Have you _met_ her?"

"Yes I have. She was quite nice. Charming, really."

Halt groaned in response. "She's not 'charming' Crowley. She's evil."

"She isn't evil Halt. Maybe you just need to make an effort to be nice to her."

"I can't. She's evil."

"Well then, I guess you'll have to figure something out on your own. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a nap to take." And so saying he dropped back down onto the cold flagstone floor, tucked his hands behind his head, and went to sleep.

Crowley awoke a couple of hours later, refreshed and ready to leave for Gallica. This was an exciting event for Crowley, who had never left Araluen at all. He'd never been on a ship, he'd never seen the ocean, he'd never met anyone from Gallica. This was going to be fun.

He got up from his spot on the hard floor, stretched, noticed Halt was missing, shrugged, snatched up all of his belongings, which wasn't much, and set off. Looking up and down the corridor which housed several of the little guest rooms, he spotted a black head sweeping around the corner towards him.

"Hi Halt," he said.

"Will you come on Crowley? We're leaving," Halt said sharply.

Crowley didn't mind his tone, Halt was just in a bad mood. He'd been in a bad mood ever since he'd met Emily. It was nothing new. So he jogged down the hallway after the rapidly receding figure of his friend, mood still soaring.

He caught up with Halt near the stables, where three Ranger horses, two battle horses, and one medium sized, regular looking horse, stood waiting. That was in addition, of course, to the Ranger, apprentice courier, and two knights.

The knights were friendly enough people. The taller of the two, who positively towered over Halt, Crowley noticed, was called Matthew. With blonde hair, honest blue eyes, and a wide and ready smile, Crowley liked him immediately.

The other young knight, Danny, was a bit shorter, with dark hair and eyes that were a curious mix between blue and green. His smile was lopsided and a bit harder to come by than Matthew's, but he seemed friendly.

Rounding out the group were the two Ranger's apprentices, who scrambled up onto their respective horses. Without a word, Jared nudged Bullseye forward, and they were off.

The group rode for the rest of the day, stopping to camp as the sun was going down and visibility started to become limited. Crowley wandered off to find firewood and Halt rummaged through Jared's saddle bags until he found a sack of coffee. But the coffee would have to wait for a fire.

So he found a suitable log and sat down. Jared had already done the same, and the two knights were off tying their horses to trees for the night. The three Ranger horses, though, were trained to stay nearby, so they didn't need to be tethered. Halt waited patiently for Crowley to return. Today hadn't been so bad. Emily had completely forsaken his company for that of the two knights. She had spoken with them all day. Perhaps this trip wouldn't be so terrible after all. But that wasn't to last long.

* * *

The next day the group reached the seaside. Now came the part of this trip that Halt had been dreading. They would have to board a ship now. Halt had sworn that he would never undergo another sea voyage again. But this time it was unavoidable. It wasn't as if there was a bridge to Gallica. No, there was only one way to get to that ridiculous little country, and that was by ship.

As they rode into a smallish port city Halt's dread grew. He looked out across the bay. The sun shone down on the blue water. It looked deceptively calm and peaceful. But Halt knew that, just outside the shelter of the port, the ocean would turn into a rolling mass bent on taking the ship under its waters. He also felt fairly certain that his stomach wasn't going to take it well. It certainly hadn't the first time he'd sailed, when he had come to Araluen.

He watched as Jared payed off the master of a ship willing to take them to Gallica. That's when Emily poked him in the side. And it just got worse from there.

* * *

"Halt are you seasick?"

"No. I'm fine. Leave me alone," Halt said in a tight voice.

"Then why do you look so sick?" Emily persisted.

"Because I saw your face," he said shortly.

"Oh, Halt, that hurt. I'd think you'd be a lot more relaxed on this boat. I mean, just feel it going over the waves. Up and down, and up and down, and up and down..."

Halt's face turned a particularly interesting shade of green and he whirled back to the ship's railing, fighting to keep his stomach in check.

Emily laughed, a pretty, clear sound. "Oh, Halt, seasickness is nothing to be ashamed of."

Halt grumbled something unintelligible. Emily put a hand to her ear and leaned closer to the Ranger's apprentice. "Sorry, what was that?"

Halt took a deep breath, forcing his stomach to settle, then very deliberately turned back to Emily. "I said," he announced very carefully, "Why don't you go die in a hole?"

Emily seemed to think this over for a moment. "Well, I would, but there aren't any holes out here on the ocean. I could drown I suppose, but I would need to fall overboard to do that."

"I could arrange that," Halt said with an evil grin.

"I-" Whatever Emily was about to say was cut off by Jared's voice.

"Emily, come on, there's a few things we need to discuss." Emily threw her most brilliant smile Jared's way, then practically skipped off to where she could see him waiting for her.

Halt murmured a silent thank you to Jared before he went back to concentrating on keeping the contents of his stomach down.

* * *

After several days on the ship they had reached Gallica. And now here they were, traveling down the little abandoned dirt track in the middle of the Gallican woods. Ben, unfortunately, had failed in his mission to get rid of a few of the children in the party, but Jared didn't mind. His commandant had tried, and that was enough.

Besides, Jared had never thought it would be his apprentice that caused the most trouble. Well, his apprentice and the courier. The two knights had remained largely silent on this trip. They spoke to each other, and they would join into conversations when they stopped to camp, but they weren't at all misbehaved.

Jared was thankful for that. That made two mature people. Well, make that three. Crowley was doing well on the trip. Surprisingly, he'd stayed quiet much of the time. He also spent a large chunk of the riding time with the two knights. His little horse, Flick, could easily keep up with the two big battle horses. And so often, when Jared looked back he would see his younger apprentice riding between the two big knights. It was a rather comical picture.

The older Ranger really needed a quiet laugh every now and again. Especially because of the constant bickering going on between Halt and Emily. That brought him back to the problem at hand. For now, keeping Halt glued to his side had solved the problem. But he knew he would have to think of a more permanent solution. But that could wait until tomorrow.

* * *

_ To those of you who thought Emily would be nice, why on earth would you think that? _

_ Now, no one figured out my reference in the last chapter. The answer was: Freda was named after Freddie Mercury, the lead singer of Queen. Please note that the chapter title was a Queen song, Freda's nickname is Freddie, and Freda is the female version of Fred. :sigh: I guess my referencing is just too subtle. Or none of you people listen to Queen. _

_ Anyway, thank you for reading, I would appreciate some reviews, and thanks once again to Arlothia for making me get my butt in gear. Peace. :P_


	13. The Journey

Chapter Thirteen:

**The Journey**

by

Boston

* * *

_ Oh my gosh! Over seventy reviews! Thank you guys! _

_ Okay, here's the next chapter. This update was a lot faster. But the next one might be slow, as actual work will be starting in school next week. So I'm sorry in advance for that. And the two little bits of Gallican are Google Translate French. So if it's wrong, I'm sorry. Enjoy! :P_

* * *

"Hey! You two, save the looks for the stage." Halt and Emily quickly looked away from each other. Jared sighed. He supposed it was time to deal with this problem. He reigned in Bullseye until he was riding level with Emily and Halt. Crowley and the two knights were riding in a line behind them.

The little group was now riding through open country, made up of farmer's fields and creeks. If there was a threat coming then Jared would have no trouble spotting them. In addition, there were three Ranger horses in the group, all trained to alert their masters at the first hint of danger.

"Alright, why don't we all get to know each other?" Jared asked cheerfully.

The five younger members of the party looked at him as though he was insane. "Obviously we already know everyone's name, so we can skip that part," Jared continued. "But, do we know everyone's... favorite color?" Jared glanced around at the other's blank stares. "No. We don't. I'll go first, mine is blue." He gestured to Emily. "And yours, Lady Emily?"

"Um, yellow," she said. She wasn't quite sure where Jared was going with this. In fact, Jared wasn't sure where he was going with this.

"Danny?"

"Red."

Jared nodded. "Crowley?"

"Green."

"Matthew?"

"Orange."

"Halt?"

"Black."

"Black's not a color," Crowley said before he could stop himself.

"Yes it is," Halt said.

Emily twisted in her saddle to look at the younger Ranger's apprentice. "But it does seem rather fitting, don't you think?" she asked. Crowley mulled this over for a moment then nodded his agreement.

"Alright," Jared interrupted. "Your turn Emily. Ask a question."

The game continued for quite a while, and the group learned all sorts of meaningless little things about each other. Matthew had five siblings at home. Crowley and Halt didn't like shrimp. Jared used to have a dog. Danny could play the lute. Emily didn't like coffee.

"What?" That last revelation ripped the disbelieving word from Jared and Crowley.

Emily shrugged. "I just never had a taste for it. I prefer tea."

"Tea?" Crowley asked, "Who drinks tea?"

"You know what tea is?" Jared said. "Hot leaf juice."

"How could you not like coffee?" Crowley continued.

"It's practically sacrilege," Jared added.

"You should put honey in it," Halt said. The argument paused. Emily studied Halt for a long moment. Then she nodded slightly.

"Oh, look, a town," Jared said happily, interrupting the, well, whatever it was. The rest of the party looked up and saw the gates of a good sized village rising up out of the grass and fields. It was situated next to one of the larger creeks.

"Oh, good," Emily sighed. "I don't know about the rest of you, but I could really go for sleeping in a real bed tonight."

There was hearty agreement from the younger members of the party. Jared just shook his head. "You young people," he sighed, "ca-"

"-Camping out builds character," Halt and Crowley finished in unison. Jared just glared at them.

As they neared the village it became apparent that what had looked like a small town was actually more of a medium sized city. And what seemed to be a creek was actually a fair sized river. A steady stream of people were entering and exiting the gates of the city, and the diplomatic party entered the rush. As they approached the gate two guards stepped in their path. The sight of a heavily armed party was not something to be taken lightly.

Jared urged his horse forward a bit so that it could clearly be seen that he was the head of the party, and dismounted. The two guards set to questioning him, and the five younger members of the party sat back and watched. After a moment Crowley nudged Flick forward so that he was sitting level with Aller and Halt. "Halt," he said quietly, "Do you speak Gallic?"

Halt nodded distractedly, concentrating on Jared and the guards. "A little bit."

"What are they saying?"

Halt pointed to the guards. "They want to know what we're doing here. Jared's telling them that we want to stay at the inn." He paused and listened for a bit. As he did so Emily and the two knights edged their way closer to the two Rangers so that they could hear Halt's soft words. "They want to know how long we'll be staying. Jared says... just for the night." The guards were nodding now. "And now they asked why we have so many weapons," Halt said as one of the guards gestured toward the group of children. "Jared's... making something up. He says we're escorting... an Araluen noble- Emily- to Leroivitici in the South." He listened some more, and the others leaned closer. "They bought it. Now they're... threatening us, I think. They say to go directly to the inn. And they say don't cause trouble. And if we do then the city guards can more than take care of us."

Jared was nodding, and speaking in rapid Gallic to the two guards. "Jared's saying that we won't cause trouble. And he's asking for directions to the inn. They say that there are two. The closest one is called 'Le Poney Cabre'. It means 'The Prancing Pony'," Halt added. "And the other one is bigger. It's 'Le Dragon Vert' or 'The Green Dragon'." The two guards were spitting out a rapid bunch of Gallic. Halt couldn't quite understand it. "They're talking too fast. I think they're giving directions." Jared was nodding. "Okay. They finished. Jared's thanking them."

Jared swung back up into Bullseye's saddle. Then he turned back to grin at the rest of the party. "Well that went well." The two guards stepped aside, leaving enough room for the six horses to get through the gate, if in single file. The diplomatic party wound through the bright streets of the city, Jared in the lead, Matthew bringing up the rear.

Crowley couldn't decide which way to turn his head first. There were so many people, dressed in so many colorful costumes. All of them were chattering away, and he couldn't understand a word of what they were saying. The smell of spices was in the air, different from the food smells that Crowley was used to. And there were just so many people. Shoving to get around each other, people dashed in front of, or, on a few occasions, underneath, their horses. Crowley found it all very exciting and exotic. And so he was a bit disappointed when they reached a large two story building and Jared dismounted. Crowley looked up at the wooden sign swinging in the breeze. Judging by the emerald colored reptile carved there, this was the Green Dragon inn. "You four stay here," Jared said as he slipped through the door.

Halt stared up at the weathered wood that made up the inn. It was obvious that it had once been green, but now the paint had faded or chipped away. Windows studded the walls, indicating the placement of rooms. The rooms were quite big, if the windows were any way to judge. Hopefully they were clean. He'd heard stories from Jared about beds full of lice and other unpleasant creatures. Halt didn't want to share his sleeping space with any sort of bug.

"What do you think the food is like here?" Matthew asked, breaking the silence.

"I don't know," Crowley said, "But it smells good." They all paused to sniff for a moment. The smell of roasting meat and many different spices was wafting through an open window of the Green Dragon.

"Do you think dinner is soon? What time is it?" Danny asked.

Crowley and Halt automatically looked up to the sky. The sun was beginning its downward arc. Crowley looked back to the young knight. "Sorry, Danny, but I think it'll be a few hours."

"Well there's got to be somewhere else to eat. It's not like Jared is going to let us starve," Emily said with certainty.

"We wouldn't starve in three hours," Halt said in an exaggerated tone of voice.

"I was exaggerating. I thought you'd be smart enough to understand that," Emily snapped back. Halt whipped violently around to face the courier.

"You know what-" Just then the door to the inn opened and Jared reappeared. He looked expectantly to his apprentice.

"What Halt?" he asked, obviously pretending not to hear the venom present in Halt's tone.

"I-, I-," Halt faltered, "Really... like it here," he finished lamely.

"That's what I thought," Jared said. "Now come on, all of you. The stables are in the back." He picked up Bullseye's reigns and led him around the inn. The others dismounted and hurried to follow. As soon as the horses were looked after the six companions filed into the main room of the inn. Wooden tables were cramped into the space, most empty except for two men who were drinking in a corner. It was after lunch time, but before supper. More people would show up as food appeared. But for now Jared led his little group up a set of stairs.

They entered into a dark wood paneled hallway with doors lining both sides. Jared fished three keys from his pocket. He passed one to Matthew, one to Emily, and kept one for himself. "Matthew, Danny, you're in that room," he indicated a door. "Crowley, Halt, you're with me. Emily, you get a room to yourself." He indicated another door and the group dispersed.

Emily's room, Halt noted, was in between the other two. He supposed it was so Jared could keep something of an eye on her. Jared unlocked their door and the three Ranger's entered. There were three beds in the room, with surprisingly clean sheets and covers. They were also blessedly soft, Halt thought as he sat down on the one closest to the far wall, by the window. And there were no bugs to be seen. Halt set down his small bag of belongings next to the bed and watched as Crowley and Jared did likewise.

Then Crowley turned to Jared. "When are we going to eat?" The Ranger shook his head.

"Later. They aren't serving yet."

"Oh." Crowley looked a bit disappointed. He sat down on his bed, in the middle of the room. Just then a tapping came at the door. Jared paused in taking off his boot.

"Yes?" he called.

Danny's young face appeared in the doorway. "Jared, when are we going to eat?"

"Later Danny," Jared said. "The inn isn't serving yet." Danny nodded, a bit crestfallen, and closed the door. Jared pulled the boot free from his foot. As he tugged on the other one, someone knocked at the door once more. "Yes?" Jared called once more.

Emily opened the door. "Jared, are we going to get some food soon?"

The Ranger sighed. "No Emily. Supper isn't being served yet."

"But I'm hungry," Emily said. Danny made a reappearance at the courier's side.

"I am too."

"Me three," Matthew materialized out of nowhere to join the group at Jared's door.

"Me four," Crowley added. Jared glared around the room at them. His eyes stopped on Halt.

The young Ranger remained quiet for a moment then said, "Me five."

"Yay Halt! You can count to five!" Emily said.

Jared sighed.

* * *

_ And there we have it. I could have kept going but I thought that was a good stopping point. So, did you see my reference in this chapter? I think someone will get it this time. I really do. You have been challenged once more. So, good, bad? Loved it? Hated it? Please tell me in a review. Peace. :P_


	14. Days Go By

Chapter Fourteen:

**Days Go By**

by

Keith Urban

* * *

_I'm so sorry this took so long to post. I suddenly became extremely busy, and I literally had no time to write (my brother also stole my laptop, but that's a different story). So, you should all be warned that updates to all of my stories are going to be extremely sporadic from now on. Sorry about that, but I can't help it. Now, I know this isn't a great chapter, but they're still traveling, so this is the result. And I just wanted to get _something _up. So yeah, please review, enjoy the chapter, etc. :P_

* * *

"Well this is just great," Emily said sourly as she attempted to wring out her soaking wet hair.

Ten minutes earlier the party of Araluens had been traveling peacefully through the Gallican countryside. The last inn was far behind them, and the next far beyond them, when the clouds had shown up. Dark and menacing, they had appeared with no warning, drawn up by a high altitude wind.

"That doesn't look good," Crowley had commented, looking around nervously for some sort of shelter. There was none.

Jared stared up at the sky. "Oh, it'll blow over," he said with as much confidence as he could muster.

But in a few minutes the temperature had taken a drastic plunge and the sun was completely obscured by the heavy, low hanging clouds.

"Um, Jared sir?" Matthew ventured tentatively.

"Yes?" the Ranger replied.

"I don't think this is going to blow over."

The wind was picking up now, whooshing in eddies and swirls between the horses and tugging at the Ranger's cloaks. The horses were becoming increasingly more uneasy. Even the Ranger horses snorted and tossed their heads nervously.

"Maybe we should-" Halt began, but whatever his next words were, they weren't heard, as the wind howled up with a vengeance, drowning out all other sound. The Ranger's cloaks flew forward, whipping the cowls up over their heads, which was lucky, considering the clouds chose that moment to begin competing with the wind. The rain dropped from the sky in huge, ice cold, splattering drops. It was a relentless, driving rain that had all six of the Araluens soaked within moments.

"Trees!" Jared shouted with all his power. He pointed off to the distance, where a slighty darker patch of gray could be seen in the gloom. Reigning in their horses hard, the group turned for the trees and set off at a gallop.

Fighting against the wind and the ground slick with rain, the horses sped forward with a kind of desperation rarely seen when not in a battle for one's life. After what seemed like an eternity the Araluen's reached the trees, and the scarce amount of safety they provided. There, the group dismounted and huddled together, heads hung and eyes closed tight against the rain. The wind beat at them, whipping up dust and rocks, and drowning out all sound. They stood that way for an indeterminate time.

And then, just as suddenly as it had started, the storm stopped. Just like that, with no warning whatsoever, all of the noise and rain ceased. Startled, the Araluens took a moment to move and look around. Jared craned his head back and saw, to his wonder, an almost cloudless blue sky. Emily stood to the side, trying in vain to wring the water out of her hair and dress, she had already thrown aside her light cloak.

"Wow," Crowley said in a hushed tone. Halt's interest was piqued, and he sidled over closer to his friend. Looking down, the Hibernian boy's eye's widened. There, lying not more than a few inches from where the group had been huddled earlier, was an enormous tree limb. Slowly and in unison, the two boys looked up to see the point where the branch had been snapped cleanly off of a tree. They looked at each other, then back up, and unconsciously took a few steps back.

"That could have..." Crowley started.

"Yeah," Halt agreed.

Shaking their heads, the two apprentices backed away and turned their attention back to the sopping wet group of people behind them. The two knights seemed to have taken the soaking philosophically, they had cast aside their cloaks, which were now useless, and were now removing their chain mail shirts. Jared had also discarded his cloak, and tried to shove his wet hair out of his eyes. Unfortunately, the messy brown mop just fell back into place. Looking upward pleadingly, Jared looked something like a forlorn puppy. A very, very, wet puppy.

Emily wasn't taking the soaking quite so well as the other members of the group. Her long fabric dress clung to her legs, and her hair was plastered over her face and shoulders. Glaring angrily at the world in general as she tried to wring out her dress, Emily appeared more like a cat to Jared's dog.

All six horses, though soaked, didn't seem to mind. Nonetheless, Halt and Crowley moved to remove the saddles from Aller and Flick. The saddles, along with their various baggage, fell to the ground with a wet squelch. Jared looked up at the sound.

"You two might want to see if you have any dry clothing in there."

The two apprentices nodded, and Matthew and Danny, seeing the sense in changing clothes, moved to unsaddle their own horses. Emily, after a few minutes of more futile drying attempts, followed suit.

After the party was changed and reasonably dry, they saddled up their horses and rode out of the small copse of trees. Under faultless blue skies the six Araluens trotted through the countryside once again. It was pleasant enough riding through the fields of Gallica. The time passed quickly, and soon night was falling.

Luckily, sunsets were a bit more predictable than storms, and so the Araluens had stopped for the night in a village that claimed to have a small inn. "Small" turned out to be an understatement. The inn, which was really more of a large house, had five guest rooms, three of which were occupied.

The Araluen's solved the problem by giving Emily her own room - as properness dictated- and bunking all four of the male party members in the other. Since there were only two beds in the room the four male party members drew lots to see who would get a bed- and who would sleep on the floor. Matthew, the elder of the two knights, won the first bed. And by some mad stroke of luck, Jared got the second. That left Halt, Crowley, and Danny, coincidentally the youngest members of the group, to camp out on the floor.

"This doesn't seem fair," Crowley said as he spread his bedroll across the floorboards in front of the two beds.

"Of course it is," Jared said, sinking gratefully onto the soft bed covers.

Halt shot a glance at his mentor. "Of course you would say that- you won."

"It was completely fair."

"Sure it was," Crowley grumbled as he lay down on the unforgiving floor.

"Yes it was. Now be quiet you two, and get some sleep." Jared blew out the one glowing candle in the room. For a few minutes there were only the sounds of soft breathing and the creaking of the inn settling down for the night.

And then, "Jared?" Halt said.

"Yes?"

"I hope there are bugs in that bed."

* * *

In the morning the travelers found that the land of lightly rolling hills had been transformed to one of mist and fog. The chilling water vapor reduced visibility to almost zero. The sun tried valiantly to break through the fog, but came through as only a pale blurry circle in the sky.

The Araluens stepped out of the inn and stared in disbelief at the massively different landscape. Emily shivered as the hanging mist swirled in an ice cold breeze. "I hate this country," she said. And for once, Halt agreed with her. The fog was cold, depressing, and blinding, but Jared insisted that they move forward.

Once all of the horses were saddled the group was on the move once more. The weak sun served as their only source of direction, luckily Jared seemed to possess some sort of internal compass. They never got lost, and when the sun finally burned off the fog later that day they were headed due south.

The Araluens had ridden in complete silence for much of the day thus far. It had felt wrong somehow to disturb the all encompassing quiet of the fog. But now, with the sun shining bright and hot once again, conversation ensued.

"Listen up, all of you," Jared said. The younger Araluens sidled their horses closer to Jared and Bullseye. "We'll be arriving at Chateau du Leroivitici sometime in the next couple of days. I want you all to behave yourselves," he paused to shoot a glare at Halt and Emily, "And I want you all to stick together. You've all heard the phrase 'no man left behind'? That doesn't apply here. So don't get lost. Got it?" They all nodded. "Good. Also, we're here to negotiate a treaty. Emily, Matthew, and Danny, you'll be coming with me to speak to the King. Crowley and Halt, you won't."

"What?" Crowley said, "Why not?"

"Because you're not actually necessary, and I thought you might like to see a little of the capital," Jared said smoothly. Actually, he was worried that King Jacque might recognize Halt as the reportedly deceased Hibernian prince that he was.

"Don't worry Crowley. We'll be off having fun while they're stuck in a stuffy throne room talking about laws and such," Halt added, recognizing Jared's ploy for what it was. He nodded his head at his mentor in silent thanks for the quick cover up.

"Alright," Crowley said.

"Good. All agreed then. Any questions?" Jared said. Silence ensued. Jared nodded to himself and tapped Bullseye on the sides to move to the head of the group once again.

Three hours later the party had moved into another medium sized Gallican town. The citizens smiled at the Araluens, occasionally calling out to them in Gallican.

"The people seem friendlier here," Emily commented.

"Ah, you noticed that, did you?" Jared said, "Yes, that's because we're getting closer to the King's castle. You see, Gallica has been falling further and further into disarray for many years. Warlords have been popping up around the countryside and taking whatever they want more and more frequently."

"Why doesn't the King do something about it?" Matthew asked.

"Jacque isn't the strongest of kings. The further north you go, the less respect people have for him. However, the further you travel to the south, the King has more influence. That's why the towns seem so much more orderly, and the people seem friendlier. They feel safer down here."

"Are they safer?" Halt asked.

"To an extent, yes. The King needs these nearby towns. They're a source of income, and he most of the time he sees to it that they're protected."

"He doesn't sound like much of a king," Crowley said, mentally comparing the picture Jared had painted of Jaque to what he knew of King Stephen.

"He's not. Not really. But he's still the king, and that's why we need to keep this treaty in place." Jared said.

Crowley nodded and gave a grunt in understanding. They rode straight through the town, as the sun was still fairly high in the sky, and Jared was now anxious to reach their destination.

As the sun set later that day the Araluens set up camp at the top of a hill. "Tomorrow," Jared said as he ducked into his tent, "We'll reach the castle."

Halt nodded, the only person awake to hear him. Jared wished Halt a goodnight then crawled underneath his covers and fell asleep. Halt stayed up for his turn at the watch.


	15. Don't Ask Me Why

**Don't Ask Me Why**

by

Billy Joel

* * *

_ Wow, it's been a long time since I updated. Like, almost two months. Because I had to reread the last few chapters to remember what was going on, here's a recap for you guys. _

_ Our heroes have been traveling through the Gallican countryside, heading toward the capital city and Chateau du Leroivitici. They are traveling to renegotiate a peace treaty between Araluen and Gallica with Gallica's King Jacques. In the party are our three Rangers: Halt, Crowley, and Jared. One diplomat in training: Emily. And two knights: Matthew and Danny, who have been charged with protecting Emily. Emily has made herself extremely annoying to Halt, which causes constant bickering between the two. The group is currently spending the night in a small town in southern Gallica, they will reach the capital city tomorrow. Emily, Jared, Matthew, and Danny will be meeting with the king, Halt and Crowley will not. And that's where this chapter begins._

_ And I think that's enough to get you by for this chapter. I hope you enjoy! :P_

* * *

"This is where we split up," Jared said. The party of Araluens were gathered at a cross roads, to the right was the rather impressive figure of the Chateau du Leroivitici. The jet black castle gave the impression of a great monster perched on top of the hill, surely designed to be intimidating. To the left the colorful capital city could be seen, people were darting about and even from a distance shouts and laughter could be heard. There was a constant stream of people and animals flowing to and from the city, and those traveling on the road slipped past the Araluens like water over rocks.

"Halt, Crowley, try to find an inn for us. And for pity's sake, don't terrorize anyone. I'd hate for you to get kicked out of the town, because, like I said before, I am perfectly willing to leave any man behind. Stick together, don't get lost, and meet us at this spot at sunset. If we don't show up within an hour then go back to the inn. Got it?" Halt and Crowley nodded. "Alright then. We'll see you tonight." Jared turned Bullseye to the right, and Emily, Matthew, and Danny followed suit. Halt and Crowley watched them go for a few minutes, until they were so thoroughly intermingled with the crowd of people heading to the castle that they were effectively invisible.

"Well, what do we do now?" Crowley said.

"Find an inn," Halt said simply. He nudged Aller and turned the little bay toward the city. Crowley turned Flick as well and trailed behind Halt. As they reached the city Crowley noticed Halt stiffen slightly. He looked up ahead and saw a couple guards standing in front of the gate. They were armed with spears, and were lazily inspecting the foot traffic for anything unusual. Hopefully a couple of Araluen Rangers weren't unusual, Crowley thought.

They made it past the gates without being stopped, though one of the guards had thrown a suspicious glance their way. Crowley saw Halt relax as they entered the city. "That was easy," Crowley said.

Halt looked back. "Yes. Hard part's over. Now we just need to find an inn."

"Right. How do we do that?"

"Well first, you have to actually _look_."

"Ha. Ha," Crowley said sarcastically.

"Come on."

The two Araluens rode carefully down the main street of the city, searching left and right for an inn. Eventually Halt spotted a large, two story building with a stable and a sign sporting a picture of a boar. "There," he said.

The pair dismounted and left their two horses in front of the inn with orders to stay. They weren't worried about the two being stolen, as it was impossible to ride a Ranger horse without knowing the password. The two boys opened the door and entered the inn. The front room was the taproom, the place where food and drinks were served to both guests and townspeople. The place was empty right now, and a young girl went around the room, slopping a wet rag across the tables. She looked up when she heard the creaking hinges of the door.

She straightened quickly and dropped the rag on the table. Wiping her hands on her apron, she smiled. "Bonjour," she said, and then followed the greeting with a rapid bit of Gallican that Crowley had no hope of understanding. Halt seemed to, however, and answered back. The girl nodded, and disappeared into a back room, presumably the kitchen.

"What did you tell her?" Crowley whispered.

"I either asked for a couple of rooms, or a couple of fish," Halt said uncertainly.

Crowley winced. "Let's hope it was rooms."

The girl reentered the room, this time followed by a large-ish woman. The girl gestured to the woman, who asked a question in Gallican. Once again, Halt answered, and Crowley recognized it as the same sentence he'd said earlier to the girl. The woman opened her mouth to answer, then paused for a moment. "You," she said slowly, thinking, "are from Hibernia?"

"Araluen," Halt said.

"Ah, that makes sense. You want a room?"

"Yes," Halt said again. "Two, if you have them."

The woman held up two fingers, making sure that she'd understood. Halt nodded. "We have them."

"May we see them?" Halt asked.

"Yes."

The woman turned to indicate a flight of stairs, and led the way to the second floor. The hallway they climbed up to was covered in doors on both walls. The woman walked almost to the end of the hallway, and then indicated two succeeding doors. Halt turned the knob of the first one. The interior looked clean, there was a small window facing the hill on which sat Leroivitici. There were three beds, with small tables set up next to each one.

"We'll take it," Halt said with a slight smile and a nod.

"Yes, yes," the woman said. "Money?" Halt opened up his small wallet and took out two coins. "That is good," the woman said. "How many days?"

"Two," Halt said, "Maybe more."

The woman nodded. "Enough for now," she said, indicating the two coins. Halt handed her the money, and she bade them farewell after slipping two keys into Halt's hand.

"That was easy," Crowley said.

"Yes. Let's go see to the horses." Halt turned the keys in the locks of both doors then led the way back down the stairs.

Aller and Flick both whinnied a greeting as the Ranger's apprentices made their reappearance. "Come on boys," Crowley said as he took hold of Flick's halter. They led the horses to the stables, and found two empty stalls. The boys made quick work of unburdening the horses of their saddles and brushing them down. Crowley fed Flick an apple. As the horse finished crunching the fruit Crowley reached for another.

"You shouldn't give him that," Halt said.

"Why not? It won't kill him."

"It'll make him fat."

"No it won't. Don't you know how much walking he's done these past few weeks?"

"It doesn't matter. He'll still get fat."

Crowley rolled his eyes and offered the apple to Flick, who happily accepted. Halt just shook his head.

* * *

The throne room of Leroivitici was a very light and open space, full of windows that gave views of the soaring black towers of the castle. However, the windows had not been put in for purposes of a nice view, and they certainly didn't lend any protective aspect to the throne room. They were a show of wealth. Glass was expensive, especially good glass, and all of the crystal clear windows would have cost a small fortune. It was all for show, a show of wealth and a show of power. Fitting, Jared thought, for a king to whom appearances meant everything.

"There haven't been any alterations, I take it?" Jared was taken back to the present as King Jacques asked the question, correctly assuming that since King Stephen had sent a man in his place, as apposed to coming to Gallica himself, that there had been no major changes to the treaty. Jared shook his head in agreement.

"I believe you, and I would love to be able to take you at your word, but these days, who can be trusted?" Jacques said with a shrug and a grin, "You'll give me a few days to let my men look it over?"

"Yes, of course, your majesty," Jared replied. A three day waiting period was standard procedure with these things; it ensured that the treaty could be read and any disagreements ironed out. Of course, as Jared had said, there hadn't been any changes to the treaty, but Jacques would have been a fool to sign it without having his scribes read it first, and Jacques, no matter how weak of a ruler, was no fool.

* * *

"This is delicious," Crowley said. He and Halt were now seated in the back corner of a restaurant located not too far from the inn. "Ooh," Crowley's attention was attracted by a waitress walking past with steaming plates of food. "Look Halt, they have shrimp. Let's get some."

"I'd rather not," Halt said quietly.

"Oh, come on. How do you say 'shrimp' in Gallican?"

"I don't know."

"Fine then. Excuse me," he called to the waitress to attract her attention. "Could we have some of the shrimp?" he said, pointing to the recipients of the shellfish. The girl mimed eating, and Crowley nodded. The girl smiled and said something in Gallican then walked off.

"She's pretty," Crowley said, "If only I spoke Gallican."

"Yeah, if only," Halt said drily.

A few minutes later the waitress returned with a plate full of shrimp. Crowley shot her his best smile and thanked her profusely. Halt watched with an expression of distaste as Crowley set into the dish.

"Oh, this is good. Do you want some Halt?" Crowley held up a shrimp in what should have been an enticing gesture. Instead, Halt felt his stomach turn.

He shoved his own plate of food away and said, "I'm not hungry anymore."

"Suit yourself," Crowley said with a shrug, and popped the shrimp into his mouth.

After a few more minutes of watching Crowley eat Halt couldn't take it anymore. "Crowley, let's go."

"But I'm not finished," Crowley whined.

"I don't care." Halt plopped a few coins onto the table and stood up.

"Fine," Crowley grumbled, picking up a few shrimp to take with him. "Where are we going now?"

"To explore."

"To explore what?"

"The city. That way we know our way around."

"Alright. If you say so."

"I do."

* * *

"Now what?" Emily asked as the Ranger led the way out of the throne room.

"Now? We wait."

"But for how long?"

"Three days is standard."

"Three days?" Matthew exclaimed in surprise.

"Yes," Jared answered calmly,"Sometimes longer. It gives time for the treaty to be looked over."

"And what will we do until then?" Emily asked.

Jared shrugged. "See the sights? I don't know. We just wait."

"Well, what do you usually do in situations like this?"

"Nothing. Sleep, eat, walk around a bit."

"Well how very boring of you," Emily said.

"It's waiting, it is boring."

"Where will we be waiting?" Mattew asked.

"Hopefully? An inn. Assuming that Halt and Crowley actually found one."

"But isn't it customary for visiting dignitaries to be given lodging in the castle?" Emily asked.

"Yes."

"So why aren't we staying here?" Danny asked.

"I didn't want to impose," Jared said.

"Why not?" asked Emily.

"Oh, no reason," Jared said, attempting to brush the question off.

"There's got to be a reason. You're paying for an inn when we could stay here for free," said Emily.

Jared found himself cursing the fact that the girl was a diplomat, and therefore, a thinker. "It's nothing. I just didn't feel like it. This conversation is over."

"But-"

"It's over."

"Why-"

"Over."

"Fine."

As the group exited the castle Emily couldn't help to continue wondering why Jared didn't want to stay at the castle. There had to be a reason. Jared didn't want to be in close quarters with the Gallican king. So what was he trying to hide?

* * *

"Sun's going down," Halt noted. "Time to go."

As they carefully navigated between people on the road Crowley realized that there had been a change in leadership. Normally, Crowley led Halt around, making decisions for the both of them. But today, somehow, Crowley had surrendered control to Halt. He supposed it was out of necessity, as Crowley couldn't speak Gallican, and Halt could. But more than that, Halt had instantly taken control earlier that morning, leading and expecting Crowley to follow. He had done it almost too easily, fitting into the role of leader instantly.

It left Crowley with a niggling sensation that Halt _allowed_ himself to be led. That the older boy, no matter how willingly he followed Crowley, had always really been the one in charge. He allowed Crowley to lead when it was convenient, but in situations that Crowley didn't know how to handle, Halt took charge. And he did it gracefully, without Crowley's even realizing it. He was a good leader, Crowley thought, a natural leader.

The more he thought about it, the more Crowley realized that it was true. And as they arrived at the cross roads and the sun began its descent to the horizon, Crowley wondered, just where had his friend come from?

* * *

_ And, there it is. Sorry for the extremely long wait. I hope you liked it, but if you didn't, that's okay too. I would looooooooove some reviews. And oh, almost forgot. I wanted to give a shout out to __Nanaki RedXIII__. You appear to be made entirely out of enthusiasm and hope. Thanks for the message and I hope you liked this chapter. Peace. :P _


	16. I Can't Tell You Why

**I Can't Tell You Why**

by

Vince Gill

* * *

_Look, I updated! Actually, I updated _everything, _as in, every story that I've got going right now. I completely dominate the first page now. Sorry, anyone who updated right before me. In other news, I GOT OVER A HUNDRED REVIEWS! Thanks so much you people! You're such nice, reviewing readers. I just want to hug you all. But, I won't, since, you know, I can't. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter. :P_

* * *

Emily ate her meal in silence. It was strange behavior for her, usually such a talkative girl. She couldn't even bring herself to pester Halt, a pastime that she was beginning to enjoy. She was certain that the soup and thick Gallican bread were delicious, but tonight she was too preoccupied to even taste much of the food that she put into her mouth. The rest of the group, consisting of two knights, one Ranger, and two Ranger's apprentices, were relatively quiet as well. They had been waiting for two days to return to the forbidding castle some ways down the road and hear what King Jacques had to say about renewing the peace treaty between Gallica and Araluen. But Emily's mind was not set on the stability of the alliance between the two nations. No, she was thinking on Jared's strange refusal to lodge at the castle.

She looked around the combined dining and taproom of the inn. It was a comfortable enough place, kept perfectly clean under the careful eye of the landlady. Yet, it was no castle. As a diplomatic party from Araluen the small group of travelers would have been granted rooms in the castle at Leroivitici. Yet Jared had politely refused the lodgings, opting instead to stay in this inn downhill from the castle. The question taxing at Emily's mind was, why? Jared was paying for their two rooms out of his own pocket, when they all could have had their own rooms for free in the castle. The problem had been playing at the edges of her thoughts for the past two days, and she felt that she was closing in on the answer.

The only reason not to stay at the castle was to keep out of sight of the Gallican king. That meant that Jared must have something to hide. However, Emily had concluded that whatever it was Jared was hiding it didn't have anything to do with himself. The Ranger was willing to negotiate with the king, therefore sleeping seperatly would serve no purpose as Jacques was already aware of his presence. By the same token, the knights making up her personal guard, Matthew and Danny, couldn't have played a part in Jared's secret. Emily, of course, had no reason to stay away from the Gallican court, as she had never even been to Gallica before this trip.

This, of course, left Crowley and Halt. The pair of apprentices had never come with the rest of the group up to the castle. In fact, Jared had made a point of keeping the two of them separated from the main party. Emily knew that these two boys had to be the reason for Jared's refusal to stay at the castle. Although, Crowley fell under less suspicion as the boy had never even been outside of Araluen, and he wasn't exactly nobility either, therefore, he most likely wouldn't attract the notice of Gallican nobles.

That left Halt. Emily glanced across their small table at the dark haired boy. He met her gaze for a moment, his eyes appeared almost black in this light. She held her stare for a few moments before looking away. But in that moment she knew that this boy was more likely than anyone else to keep a secret.

* * *

Crowley knew that he had to pick his moment carefully. For two days he had been thinking about Halt. Crowley had seen the older boy in the role of a leader, he had seen him take charge of a situation and neatly deal with problems that cropped up. He had also seen Halt act stubborn and just a little bit bossy. That, of course, had been two days ago, when Jared had left Halt and Crowley with the task of finding an inn and fending for themselves for a day. Now that Crowley had seen Halt in a different context than his friend and fellow apprentice, he couldn't help thinking that now, Halt's personality and behavior didn't quite ring true. The shy, quiet demeanor that Halt exhibited now that Jared and the others were back bore little resemblance to the boy that Crowley had seen two days ago.

Crowley couldn't help thinking that this Halt, the familiar Halt, who was quite willing to follow Crowley wherever he went and take any and all orders from Jared, might also be the fake Halt.

* * *

Emily slipped out of her room. It was late, she knew. She stepped carefully across the wooden floorboards, hoping not to cause a squeak that would wake the other lodgers. When she had gone to bed several hours ago she'd found that she was suffering from insomnia. After tossing and turning and thinking about how tired she would be in the morning she finally stood up from her bed. She had heard once that sleep deprivation was a sort of awful cycle. While attempting to fall asleep one would stress about their own lack of slumber, and that worry, in turn, prevented the body from coming to a restful enough state to sleep. Emily had decided to accept the fact that she was not going to get any rest that night, and go get a glass of water.

She walked carefully down the hallway, tiptoeing past the occupied rooms and basing all of her concentration on her feet. Once she finally got down the stairs without disturbing any of the inn's resting occupants, she fetched a glass and filled it with water from a conveniently placed barrel in the taproom. She started her way back up the stairs, being doubly careful not to drop the glass. As she made it to the landing at the top of the staircase, she noticed that one of the doors was slightly ajar. It hadn't been that way before. She crept over to the door and peeked through the opening.

A sliver of dark sky dotted with stars met her gaze. The door led to the small balcony of the inn. It offered customers the chance to get a bit of fresh air and watch the goings on of the town without going down the stairs or standing out in the street. Apparently someone else was sharing her sleeplessness this night.

"Are you always up at midnight?"

The quiet, deep voice startled her, almost causing her to jump and spill the remaining water in her glass. Now that her attention had been drawn to it, she saw the dark figure outlined with the sparse moonlight leaning over the railing. Her eyes narrowed. She knew that voice. Carefully, she edged the door open and stepped out onto the balcony. The chill air of the Gallican night hit her instantly, sending a slight shiver up her spine. The figure hadn't moved to look at her. She closed the door behind her.

"No," she said in answer to the question. "Are you?"

Finally the figure looked over their shoulder, revealing dark eyes and a smirk. "Sometimes," Halt said. He leaned back over the railing, looking out over the sleeping capital city of Gallica.

Emily walked forward the few paces it took to join him at the railing. "What are you doing out here?" she asked.

"Nothing," he shrugged. "Couldn't sleep. You?"

Halt, Emily noticed, seemed to be in a good mood, as no snarky comments had thus far passed his lips. But then, every insult he'd hurled at Emily had been in response to one she had thrown at him. "Same."

Halt grunted an acknowledgment. They stood in silence for a while, each alone with their own thoughts. Emily's were running around Halt, wondering what sort of secret such a seemingly unimportant boy could have. Halt's thoughts, as always, were indiscernible.

"Who are you?" Emily asked before she could stop herself.

Halt looked at her, raised a mocking eyebrow. "Halt."

"No," Emily said, trying to get her thoughts in order, "I mean, where did you come from? What is it about you that's so important? Why does Jared want to keep you away from that castle?" She gestured to the hill, clearly visible even from this distance, where the Gallican king's residence sat, black against the already dark night sky.

Halt was startled. He could feel his heart begin to beat faster against his chest. He worked hard to keep his face impassive, but he could feel the muscles in his face trying to freeze, and knew that whatever expression he could manage would still look fake. "What do you mean?" he said, as nonchalantly as possible. "Why one earth would Jared want me away from the castle?"

"That's what I'm asking you."

"And I'm supposed to know?" said Halt, trying to laugh but knowing that it sounded forced, because it was.

"Listen Halt," Emily said, her gaze pinned to his, "You're going to have to work a lot harder on that poker face before it will fool me. I'm a diplomat, remember? I know how to read people. You're worried, right now. All I want to know is, why?"

Halt looked away. He closed his eyes for a moment and blew out a pent up breath. He knew a trap when he saw one, and he knew now that he was quite thoroughly captured. He turned back and evenly met Emily's penetrating gaze. "I can't tell you."

"I knew it!" Emily exclaimed. Then she became conscious of the late hour once again and lowered her voice. "I knew there was something off about this. So who are you, really?"

Halt glared at the older girl. "I can't tell you."

"Why not?"

"Because this is the one secret that I have to keep. If I tell you then you just have to slip up _once_ and it's all over."

"But you've told Jared." Emily worded it as a statement, not a question.

"Yes, I did. I can trust Jared, I know that. But you? I've just met you, and, sorry about this, but I don't even like you that much. Why one earth would I tell you?"

"Hmm... I see your point, I suppose. But let's you and me face it, Halt. I've gotten this far, I figured out you and Jared had some sort of secret, what's to stop me from getting even closer?"

"Simple," Halt said, "There are exactly two people in the world that have that information." He smiled, "And we're not talking."

* * *

The next morning Crowley and Halt farewelled their companions as Jared, Emily, and the two knights left for the castle. It had been three days, and they were finally off to check on the progress of the treaty. This left the two Ranger's apprentices by themselves for the rest of the day. As the four mounted figures disappeared from sight Crowley resolved himself to working Halt's origins into a conversation. He had waited these past three days to bring up the subject. Crowley knew instinctively that Halt would balk at answering any personal questions in front of the others.

Now that the others were gone it was all Crowley could do to bite his tongue and keep from simply blurting out his questions. Crowley knew that he would need to pick his moment carefully, so that Halt would feel comfortable enough to answer. "So," Crowley said, "What are we doing today Halt?"

Halt shrugged. "Whatever you want Crowley." Halt seemed preoccupied with something, his voice sounded a little far away.

Crowley's brow furrowed. "What's eating you?"

Halt shook himself. "Nothing. I just didn't sleep very well last night."

"Oh, alright. Do you... want to take a nap or something?"

"No, I'll be fine."

"If you say so. Do you want to take the horses out for a run?" Aller and Flick had been cooped up in the inn's stables quite a bit over the past few days.

"Sure," Halt said, seeming to shake off a bit of the fog he was in.

The two apprentices headed out to the stables and found themselves instantly greeted by their two horses. The two boys set to saddling up their respective mounts. "I wonder if they remember their parents," Crowley said out of the blue. He was fairly certain that Halt wouldn't notice anything suspicious in the mention of parents, as the younger apprentice tended to bring up seemingly random topics.

"What do you mean?" asked Halt.

"Well, they must have parents somewhere, right? Do you think they miss their mothers?"

Halt looked skeptically at his friend. "I don't know, perhaps."

"I would miss my mother," Crowley continued, "I mean, I get to see my mother every year, and I still miss her sometimes. I wonder how it would feel to leave your parents and know that you'll never see them again?" Crowley wondered if this prodding was hitting too close to the mark or if he was remaining at least somewhat subtle. Crowley watched Halt for any reaction. There was none.

"I think that depends," Halt said, "On whether or not those parents were worth staying for in the first place."

Crowley was silent. It was obvious from Halt's tone of voice that he was speaking from experience. It was one of those moments that got just a little too deep to be comfortable. But hadn't Crowley wanted to know about Halt? "Yeah," he said quietly, "Yeah, I guess that's true." Halt swung up into his saddle and the moment passed.

* * *

Halt and Crowley sat their horses on top of a hill overlooking the river. Like a giant silver snake the great, slow moving river wound about the countryside, bringing in goods and taking away items for trade. The Gallicans certainly had river trade down to a science, as evidenced by the quick, precise moves of dock workers as they loaded and unloaded crates and barrels.

"I wonder where it all comes from," Crowley said, gesturing to the activity along the river.

"Upstream, presumably," Halt said drily.

"Thanks for the insight Halt."

"You're welcome."

They were silent for a moment. "Seriously, don't you find it the least bit interesting? Everything on these boats had to be made by someone, and then sold to someone else, and then shipped here by someone else, and then sold again. It's amazing how anything ever ends up here."

"I suppose."

"And people are even more interesting. I mean, it took a lot just to get me here. I don't know what it took to get Jared and all the rest here. One little change in our lives, and we wouldn't be here right now. I might not know you, or Jared. I could be a farmer right now, or an orphan. It's just strange to think how every little thing in our lives had to fall in place to get us here."

"That's true. I'd never thought of it that way." Crowley stayed quiet now. Halt thought about it. There really had been quite a few pivotal moments in his life that led up to his being here. If Ferris had never been born then he would be a king right now. If he himself had drowned that last day at home, then, well, he'd be dead and Ferris would be king. But for some reason Halt couldn't find the will to regret having a brother like Ferris, or a childhood like the one he'd had. After all, everything in his life up to this point had led to his having a friend like Crowley and a mentor like Jared, and a home where he felt like he really belonged.

* * *

Crowley was finally tired of attempting subtlety. As they rode back toward the gates of the Gallican capital he decided to simply ask Halt, flat out, where he had come from. He glanced over at his companion, who was riding peacefully beside him. "So Halt, where are you from?"

"Hibernia."

"Right, but I hear there's about six different kingdoms over there."

Halt hesitated for a moment. "I'm from Clonmel."

"What part?"

Halt looked uncomfortable. He couldn't believe that he would be barraged by these questions twice in two days. "I lived in the capital," he said slowly.

"And your family, what about them?"

Halt took a deep breath. He didn't want to lie to Crowley. "Well, my father is dead..."

"Oh," Crowley's demeanor sobered. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be. He wasn't much of a father to begin with."

"I'm sorry."

Halt laughed. "Thanks, Crowley."

They rode in silence once more. Crowley was unwilling to ask any more questions. Whatever Halt's reasons were for leaving Hibernia, he thought, they must be damn good ones. He settled down into Flick's saddle, satisfied that he'd found out enough for one day.

* * *

_ I'm really not at all satisfied with that chapter. But oh well. So, I hope you liked it, and feel free to check out all of my other updates. Cause there's a lot of them. Merry Christmas/Holiday of Your Choice! And don't forget to review! Even after a hundred they still make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. :P_


	17. IT'S JUST AN AUTHOR'S NOTE!

Well guys, it's been great. You guys have been so kind to me while writing this story, putting up with the long barren stretches between updates, the varying quality of those updates, and the multitude of excuses I've made. I've gotten over 100 reviews on this story, which is still amazing to me. And so I'm sad to say that it's over. I've just run out of ideas for this story, so later today it will officially be abandoned. Sorry guys. Thanks for the support.

P.S. JUST KIDDING!

The next updates on all of my stories are going to be long in coming as I anxiously await the arrival of a new charger cord for my laptop. Somehow I managed to lose exactly half of said cord, so my laptop can't charge right now. All of my drafts are on my laptop, including some finished chapters for some of my stories. So I'm just gonna update once I get the new cord. Hope this author note didn't upset you too much.

* * *

And now, a short story:

"Halt?"

"Yes?"

"What are we going to do once we graduate?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, what how are we going to survive without Jared?"

"Um, the same way we do now, but with less sarcasm?"

"You never worry about this?"

"Not really, no."

"Well I do."

"Alright."

"…."

"Night Halt."

"Night Crowley."


	18. Changes

**Changes**

by

David Bowie

* * *

"I don't think I understand."

Jared pursed his lips in thought. He glanced around in an attempt to find inspiration. There really wasn't much to look at now that they were back on the ship; just open water and a small strip of sand and trees that was trying desperately to pass for an island. Then there was the ship itself, made up of wood and sails and masts and other ship-like things. Jared had never been much of a mariner. He looked back at the island, and a swooping shadow caught his attention. Looking up, Jared saw that it was an eagle, flying over the water in search of fish.

"You see that eagle, Crowley?"

The boy followed his mentor's gaze to the bird. "Yes."

"And what do you think of him? Graceful, isn't he?"

"I suppose so," Crowley, said.

"You suppose so? He's a right master of the air."

"Alright, yes."

"Glad you agree." Jared paused for a moment to watch the bird snatch a fish from the water. He turned back to Crowley, "Have you ever seen an eagle walk?"

"No."

"It's absolutely ridiculous. Funniest thing I've ever seen. Take that bird out of the air and he wobbles about like a drunk. And do you know why?" Crowley shook his head. "Because he's out of his element. He knows how to fly about in the air, not walk on the land." Jared began strolling down the length of the ship, toward the bow. Crowley followed at his heels.

"Or take, for example, Halt," Jared said as they approached the railing. The smaller of the two Ranger's apprentices was huddled there, wrapped in his green and gray cloak. Jared made a sweeping gesture at the boy, inviting Crowley to observe him. "Fearsome lad though he is," Crowley stifled a laugh, "Put him on a boat and you could knock him over with a feather."

This time Crowley did laugh, causing Halt to turn long enough to give the pair a pale and sweaty glare before hunching back over the railing.

"So, the lesson is," Jared continued, as he pulled a coin out of his pocket, "that when you're faced with a fight or a tricky situation, or what have you, it's in your best interest to keep your adversary off guard." He began rolling the coin across his knuckles, "It really doesn't matter how- sometimes all you have to do is keep talking to them, keep them distracted right up until you make their move." The coin glinted in the sun as Jared flipped it back and forth across his hand. "Any distraction will work..." He flipped the coin high into the air, and Crowley's gaze followed it up. As he did so he felt a sharp pain in his leg, and cried out, grabbing at his shin. "... So long as you don't get distracted yourself," Jared finished as he caught the falling coin and replaced it in his pocket.

"That hurt, you know!" Crowley complained as he hopped about on one foot, holding his right shin with one hand.

Halt turned to laugh at the spectacle. Crowley glared at him. "It's not funny."

"Oh, but it is! It's not every day that I get to see you get kicked, Crowley.

Crowley rubbed his shin one last time before putting his foot back on the deck. "Oh, go back to being sick, why don't you?"

"Now, now, children, settle down," Jared said. Halt turned back over the railing, the shadow of a smile still visible on his face. "Crowley, do you understand now?"

"Yes, keep an enemy off balance and you stand a better chance of beating him. But I don't understand why kicking me was necessary."

"It was to teach you not to get distracted. You need to watch your opponent."

"I wasn't aware that you were an opponent."

"That's another thing," Jared said as he began to wander away from the ship's bow, "Never assume that someone is safe. That way, nothing ever comes as a surprise."

Crowley paced after him, still sulking just a bit. Jared had decided that his two apprentices needed more lessons as of late. After all, they had slacked off somewhat while in Gallica. Crowley didn't mind too much, as he'd explored every inch of the ship. A naturally curious boy, Crowley quickly grew bored with his second trip across the sea.

They were drawing closer to Araluen now, only a day remained of the sea journey. Then the little party would stay for a while in the capital, to finish up this treaty business, before splitting up and heading home. Crowley couldn't wait to get back to the neat little cabin at the edge of the woods. He had enjoyed traveling, but it would be nice to be back in familiar surroundings. Gallica had been exciting, but in Crowley's book, nothing could quite compare with home.

"Crowley, are you listening to me?"

The boy was jarred from his thoughts by Jared's voice. "No, not really." There was something about nostalgia that made Crowley feel like being honest.

Jared sighed. "Well if you aren't going to listen, why don't you go and find something useful to do? And staring off into space like that is not useful."

Crowley nodded, choosing not to be affected by the reprimand, and hopped off toward one of the sailors.

Jared shook his head at the slight form of his young apprentice. It was easy to see that the boy was homesick. He'd been walking about in a cloud of his own thoughts for the past few days. Jared couldn't blame him; it was the youngster's first time away from Araluen. Halt was probably looking forward to getting home as well. Well, Halt was probably looking forward to getting off the boat more than anything else. The poor kid had been heaving his guts over the side since the return trip had begun.

The older Ranger was looking forward to getting home as well. He was missing a few old friends, and he wouldn't mind getting all of these kids out from underfoot. Plus, it was springtime now, which meant that the grass and trees would be green around his cabin, and wildflowers would be sprouting up. The farmers would be out working in the fields, and the days would be pleasantly warm. He would be able to sit out on his porch and sip coffee while listening to the buzzing of insects and the familiar _twang_ of an apprentice's bow. He could almost feel a cool breeze blowing against his skin. Springtime was definitely Jared's favorite time of year. It also marked the one year anniversary of his finding Halt.

A lot had changed in just one year. Jared had gone from having one apprentice to two, which had come with all of the mayhem he would have expected. But he was enjoying himself, which was the main thing.

Jared had noticed definite changes in both boys this past year. Crowley was quieter now, more focused. Not to say that he didn't still love to talk, he just didn't talk _as much_. And a fondness for competition and trash talk had arisen in him.

And Halt had changed too. Jared had seen the Hibernian boy gain in confidence and lose the sadness behind his eyes. His personality had finally come out, revealing a smart, humorous boy, with a bit of a competitive streak. He spoke more now, laughed more, though he smiled only rarely (Jared still couldn't figure out the reason for that, he seemed quite grim for a teenager). Even his voice had changed. When Jared had first met the boy he'd spoken with a thick accent. Now, he spoke like any other Araluen, but with the slightest hint of a Hibernian bur. And he seemed to be enjoying his new life.

There were also physical changes, of course. Halt had grown tall_er_, though he would never be considered _tall_ by any standards. And Crowley had outgrown Halt. The younger boy stood a full two inches above him now.

But some things hadn't changed. Crowley still had a somewhat inflated opinion of himself; Halt still refused to talk about his past. Crowley was just as friendly as ever, and Halt continued to avoid attention like the plague.

They were an interesting, unlikely, perfect pair. They balanced each other out. Jared knew they would probably remain friends long after they each graduated and moved on to take care of their own fiefs. They would get to see each other yearly, at the Gathering, if not more often. He was sure they would both graduate, in only a year with Halt Jared could see that he held great potential. And of course, Crowley never would have made it through his second year of apprenticeship if Jared didn't think he would be a suitable Ranger. Actually, he thought that the two would be more than suitable, they might actually turn out to be great. Perhaps they would move up the ranks of the Corps, in twenty years or so they might be running the operation.

Jared chuckled quietly at the thought of his two mischievous apprentices running anything.

* * *

_ Sorry for my extended absence from this site. I've been in a terrible funk these past few... months. But things are starting to get better in real life, so I should be writing more. Also, sorry if this chapter is bad, I just haven't been writing _anything _lately, so I'm a bit rusty. So, I hope you enjoyed, but even if you didn't, thank you for reading. Oh, and leave a review, will 'ya?_


	19. Don't Know Nothing

**Don't Know Nothing**

by

Maroon 5

* * *

_ Here's the next chapter, taking place sometime after the Rangers have returned home from Castle Araluen and Gallica. Um, please remember that Ben is the Ranger Commandant. _

* * *

Jared stormed down the stairway, mercilessly slamming his feet on the uncaring stones. Sparks leaped from the torch in his hand, spiraling in the wind of his passage to leave a trail more visible, though no less tangible, than the one left by his anger. Ben lagged behind, unwilling to come in close contact with the emotions running wild in his friend and colleague. He paced carefully downward, more leery of the dampness pooling on the steps and sliding from the walls. Two figures trailed behind Ben, keeping step with each other in the pale remnants of the light cast by the torch.

The stairs ended abruptly, leaving the small party in the cold, damp space of the castle's dungeon. Torches were spaced intermittently across the space, casting hugely disproportionate shadows on the wall and barely keeping away the blackness that constantly threatened to overtake the place. Skittering sounds could be heard on occasion, courtesy of the rats that had made themselves at home. A small clink echoed endlessly as a condemned man repeatedly tossed a pebble against the stone walls of his cell.

Ben got his bearings quickly, his eyes instantly searching out the only moving light in the place. He paused for a moment to be sure the two others had caught up, then set off after Jared. The Ranger, barely visible in his camouflage cloak, had ended his mad rush in front of a closed door. He waited restlessly, alternating his focus between the three approaching cloaks and the locked metal door. Ben lifted the key ring in his hand, studying the patterns of the metal in the better light given off next to Jared's torch. Selecting the correct key, he inserted it into the lock and turned it. With a click, the lock was open.

Ben stole a quick glance at Jared then backed away to allow his friend to open the door. Jared reached forward for the heavy handle, his face set in displeasure. The rusted hinges squealed in protest as the door was swung aside. Jared thrust his torch into the small room. Ben leaned closer to peak inside, feeling the other two copy his movement.

Two ragged figures helped each other to their feet, blinking owlishly into the light. Their hair was matted, their clothes crumpled, their faces smeared with dirt and grime.

Jared regarded them for a moment, stoney faced. Then he shook his head in disgust and let out a shaky breath. "You had better have a _damn _good explanation for this."

Halt picked a piece of hay from his hair, and Crowley wiped some dirt from his cheek, but neither answered.

* * *

"Halt, how on earth did this happen?" Crowley sat with his elbows on a wooden table, fingers steepled across his nose.

Halt sighed, running a hand through his lank hair. "I don't know, Crowley." The two boys sat in silence, contemplating their new surroundings. This new room was a vast improvement over the pitch dark of the dungeon. A window let in moonlight, and it was furnished with a wooden table and two chairs. There was a painting on the wall, and colorful fabrics hung at the window. The decorations didn't change the fact that there were bars on the window and a lock on the door.

Suddenly, Halt laughed. Crowley looked at him, startled. "What?"

"Nothing," Halt said with a chuckle and a wave of his hand.

"No, really, what is it?"

"Well, before we left, Jared told me to keep you out of trouble, and look at us!" Halt burst into laughter, Crowley joining in this time.

"You know what the best part is?" Crowley choked out between chuckles.

"What?"

"He told me the same thing."

The two boys collapsed back into helpless laughter, both glad for the release it gave them after many tense days and nights. However, they both sobered instantly when they heard a click from the door. The apprentices turned their full attention to the far side of the room as the door creaked open and Ben appeared.

"You boys have gotten yourselves into an awful lot of trouble," he said.

"Where's Simon?" Crowley demanded.

"He's... safe." Ben answered.

"When do we get to see him?"

"You don't." Halt shot from his chair, sending it toppling backwards. Ben barely gave him more than a glance. "I would suggest sitting back down. After you've told me what happened, and after I'm certain that you told me _everything_, then _maybe_ you can see your friend. Until then, you had better cooperate with me and everyone else that needs to hear this. Any questions?"

The two young men crossed their arms and aimed steady glares at their Commandant. "Oh, the silent treatment. Frightening, I'm sure." Ben turned toward the door. "I'll be back in fifteen minutes." Halt and Crowley heard the click of the lock engaging after he left.

* * *

"How are they?" Jared's voice floated from nowhere in the seemingly empty hallway. His anger, so potent earlier, had faded somewhat after seeing the state his apprentices were in.

"Stubborn. Defiant." Ben watched as Jared's form peeled away from the wall, a faint smile showing at his lips, the only visible part of his face in the shadow cast by the cowl of his cloak.

"That sounds about right."

"I wonder where they learned it from? I mean, it's not as though their master ever sneaks into hallways that are off limits. Guarded, even."

"Are you trying to blame this on me?"

"Of course not," Ben said sarcastically.

"How long until those other two get here?" Jared asked, changing the subject before an argument could ensue.

"Ten minutes."

* * *

Crowley and Halt watched in silence as four men filed into the cramped space of their current prison. Jared and Ben came first, identically unreadable expressions on their faces. Behind them were two figures wrapped in black cloaks, the same pair that had accompanied the older Rangers to fetch the apprentices from the dungeon. The two groups studied each other.

After a moment of tense silence Ben coughed. "Well, here they are."

The two black clad figures stepped forward, pushing their hoods away from their faces. Halt and Crowley started in surprise, pushing back against their chairs in a reflex reaction to get away from the newcomers. "What are _they_ doing here?" Halt demanded.

"They need to hear this," Ben replied, "After all, they are the ones you stole-"

"We didn't steal anything!" Anger caused Crowley's voice to crack up an octave.

"Alright, fine. They've been... _affected_ by whatever mess you two have gotten yourselves in to. Now, if you'll just tell us-"

Ben was cut off again by the taller of the two figures. The man was much taller than any of the Rangers, with close cropped gray hair and eyes such a light shade of blue they were almost colorless. He had a big, straight nose and a set jaw. He stepped forward to place his hands on the table, leaning in to face the two boys, who leaned back slightly in their chairs. "Tell me where my daughter is," he demanded in a low, clipped tone.

"We can't," Halt said.

"Oh, I think you can. I think you will."

"I think we won't," Crowley said, anger dripping from his voice like slime, his distaste evident.

The man eyed them for a moment more, his disturbing eyes glinting in the moonlight. Suddenly, he pushed himself up from the table, giving vent to a deep and booming laugh. "It's no matter," he said. "All we need you for is to confirm what we already know. Your friend Simon has told us everything."

Halt and Crowley exchanged a glance.

* * *

_ Well, there it is, hope you liked it. If you've been confused by this chapter, don't worry, you were supposed to be. Setting, the identity of all these new characters, and just what the hell Halt and Crowley did will all be revealed in later chapters. Peace. :P_


End file.
